Saint Beast - Future Life -
by ishigawaaisha
Summary: Futuristic Version of the Saint Beast series I have created. Yuda is experiencing something that their kind never had before...and he wants to find out why only him...
1. Chapter 1

Story: AU, OOC (I try to stick to their personalities as much as possible)

Pairing: not yet mentioned...maybe later :3

Author's Note: I do not own Saint Beast. All credits go to the original creator.

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Year 2062

A pair of clear blue eyes opened up. It blinked several times then looked around the area. He was still where he was supposed to be; on that part he is sure. Then he looked at the familiar metallic ceiling and heaved a sigh so soft you can barely hear it.

[It's that dream again…]

He placed one arm on his forehead and started to recall the dream that he has been having for quite some time now. For some reason, it only started when they were approaching this planet. The other planets that they have visited, did not give him any visions whenever he takes his rest. All were dreamless nights.

[Only…here…]

He felt his eyes closing as he tries to relive the dream in his mind.

[What is it in this planet…that makes me feel so…]

He closed his eyes and the dream is about to begin. Again.

_He knew he is in Earth...because of the state that it is in._

_He was walking on a floor were a straight arrangement of a tiny, circular stone patterns can be seen; the full moon is shining magnificently and at the same time, eerily, on his back, and he was examining the place that closely resembles that of a traditional Japanese rock garden years ago. But now, it's a place where rotten flesh, maggots and worms assemble and dried blood everywhere as far as you can see. He is still wondering why he was here when he heard it._

_He stopped, immediately on guard, since those 'things' might have been around and heard his footsteps and he was immediately on a fighting stance, when the sound that he heard clearly did not come from 'them'. It was more of a melody – a music – even. He began to relax and tried to locate the exact location of the sound. With his bionic ears, his gaze fixed on a place where a big circular stone fountain is rooted._

"_The fountain?" He approached it and closed his eyes, concentrated more and listened closely._

"_Yes, it is definitely here…" he murmured then opened his eyes and started to look if there might be some type of contraption because the music that he is hearing goes beyond the fountain – underground to be exact. He looked and felt around and noticed something on the top of the fountain. A baby turtle made of something colored green. Its luminescence has long been lost but he can still make out the components of the material: jade._

[Fascinating, a jade on a stone monument...now that is something...]

_Taking note of that observation, he noticed then the other designs on the stone monument. There were designs of angels and cherubs with trumpets and of clouds. He touched them, feeling them underneath his skin._

[Strange...]

"_What is a turtle doing amongst the angels?" And he lightly touched it. Feeling that something maybe behind of this strange arrangement, he started feeling if something can be pressed or pushed on the jade colored baby turtle. Then he felt it, a small circular button of some sorts on top of the turtle's shell. He pushed it and heard the earth beneath him rumble. He stepped back, looking over his back to make sure nothing approaches him and take him by surprise because of the noise, and watched as the fountain, that once had a running clean water, tremble and shook and the pole on its center, the one that had the ornate designs, moved by a fraction; if there is still water in it, it could be draining it right now but since there is none, it just stayed there for a few minutes then closed again. Seconds passed. Minutes. Nothing else happened. He was about to approach it again when the whole fountain itself gave a strong shudder and moved to the side, revealing a total blackness downwards then a set of stairs made of stones appeared one by one with a small light lighting it up the way every 5 steps. One elegant eyebrow arched upward. _

[Oh, this is getting interesting...]

_He let the reverberation to subside before he went down._

_It was getting colder and colder as he goes further down. Although the temperature does not affect him that much, he still pressed a button on his lilac colored sleeves and he immediately felt the temperature become warmer. He continued going down, noting on his timer that he has been descending for at least 15 minutes now and the stairs still continue to go down, temperature getting colder as he descended further. The only consolation he gets is that the music is getting louder – meaning, he is nearing the source and he sped up. Finally, he reached the end of the stairs. The temperature reading says -50 degree Celsius. The music that he has been hearing seems to be bouncing off the walls made of cement, giving it an echo-like sound. This time, the lights were on the floor, hugging the walls. He followed not the light but the music that – even if it is making an echoing sound, he clearly hears where it is coming from, the area where there are no lights on the floor. He stopped; it was too dark and it is evident that he needs some form of light to proceed. In his one hand, a small blue ball of light appeared and it quickly illuminated what was in front of him. He was shocked to see what was before him._

"Yuda!"

His eyes suddenly opened in a jolt. He saw a worried looking silver-white haired man hovering above him.

"Luca…"

Luca, the man with a silver – white hair heaved a sigh of relief. He straightens up as Yuda sit up from his bed.

"I have been calling you through the intercom twice but you were not answering so I got worried. Looks like I awakened you at the right time." Yuda looked at his hand, where in the dream he made the blue light to see what was ahead.

[That…I'm not sure…]

By now, he knows that his dreams come in sort of series. Every time he sleeps, a new event happens. The last time he dreamt, he did not hear any music nor noticed the fountain with the baby turtle design. Yuda shook his head a little and looked at him.

"Sorry if I worried you. I had another dream." Luca raised his eyebrows on this.

"Again?" Because of its strangeness, at first, Yuda did not tell his close friend/ confidant about the dreams he have been getting but noticing the sudden change on the red-haired whenever he wakes up, he insisted that he tell him and so he did. Every single detail of it. Luca also find it strange and is not sure how such a phenomena could happen. To begin with, they are not the type to experience 'dreams'.

Yuda looked at his feet and nodded, his mind still focused on the latest dream. The need to know gnaws at him; he really want to know what happen. What did he see that elicited such unusual expression from him: shock.

Luca shifted his position, now his one hand on his hips.

"Are you okay? You've been getting them a lot lately…" He looked at his friend. Although Yuda assured him that it was strange but a fun (sometimes thrilling) experience, he can't help but get worried. The red-haired got up on his bed. Yuda shook his head and smiled, he then placed a hand on Luca's shoulder to brush off his look of worry.

"Isn't that dreams appear because something is being conveyed to you?" Luca shrugged.

"That's how the humans interpret it, Yuda." It was his turn to shrug.

"Well, no harm using it." He walked passed his friend and waved his hand, dismissing any further argument. Luca turned to looked at his retreating friend, then crossed his arms across his chiselled chest.

"Yuda, we are not humans." Yuda stopped at the metallic door; it opened a few seconds ago when his presence was detected by its sensors. He had to find out. He need to know what is behind all these 'dreams' he have been getting. And if being in this planet can help him in any way, is all the better.

"I know." He said without looking and he left.

[I wonder if they have results already?]

A double door made of metal and something else opened and Yuda entered what looked like the command center. There were several people working on screens that are floating on air and most of them wore body fitting suits that are either a full black or full white color. Right in front of him is the biggest screen and shows what appears to be a barren land that resembles a city that may have prospered a long time ago. He continued to walk until he stopped on a nearby terminal and started typing in a few things. A man with a short purple hair with a slightly longer fringe held by a clip on the right side, looked at Yuda's direction and perked up, then quickly covered his mouth with the metal clip board that he is holding to hide the incoming smile – something that is usually not seen from him but is reserved for a certain red-haired only.

[OH MY! IT'S YUDA!]

He is a good looking young man and immediately approached Yuda, after composing himself and made sure he looks presentable to the other man.

[Alright! Here goes!]

"Yuda!" his equally purple eyes looked at the red haired with full devotion and admiration and something else. Yuda stopped what he was doing and looked down on him – he is taller by a foot – and gave a small smile.

"Shiva. What is the status? Did you find it?" Shiva, blushing for all he is worth, bobbed his head up and down and offered the metallic clipboard. Yuda concentrated on the clip board and pressed some more buttons; a map in 3D appeared and rotated it with his fingers. Shiva inched closer to him; fingers itching to touch the red-haired but is in right mind to feel shy to do so. For now.

With a small but composed self-induced cough, he started giving his report.

"Yes, we are already approaching the location that you described. It was in a country once called Japan, in Kyoto area." He stopped. He is not sure why Yuda made him search this but if there is any way that he can work with the red-haired, even if it means to research on those low-life humans, he'll do it. He then decided that it was the right time to 'accidentally' brush fingers with the red-haired. Yuda's gaze followed where the smaller man was pointing, oblivious to the act. The smaller mans' heart is racing so fast, the red haired might hear it. He stole a quick look on the handsome face and had to melt.

"Kyoto…" Hearing that breathy voice just sent him to cloud nine. He is now on his own world, just him and Yuda. Unknown to him, Yuda was already skimming over the information about Kyoto when there was a loud click of a heels and someone cleared his throat.

"And? Are you going to continue ogling at the Commander or continue with the report? Or do you want me to finish it for you?" Shiva, with his cloud nine bursting, looked annoyed at the apparent hindrance in their blooming, albeit one-sided, romance. He then looked on the voice that oh-so-distracted him from his beautiful dream. A man with a short blonde haired, droopy eyes and mouth that knows only scalding/negative/derogative words. Well, there were some people who are exempted.

[He must have some sort of list whom he never uses such vulgar words...like I care!]

"Kira! Don't butt in when you are not needed! Shoo!" with his hands making a gesture of driving the other person away. A little vein popped out of the blonde's head and decided to ignore Shiva and walked towards Yuda. Yuda noticed him and the blonde made a salute.

"Commander, since Shiva is VERY much INCOMPETENT in terms of finishing off the report, I would be more than happy to do so." Shiva was squawking and was about to object when Kira continued, just pausing for a bit, effectively stopping Shiva from making any type of protest. Yuda then looked at him and gave a nod, telling him to continue.

He placed his hands on his back and stand up in attention.

"Thank you, Commander. The location that you described to us, a few days ago, matched the place where we are heading right now. It was in Kyoto, Japan. A country found in the South East Asia and was considered to be the most advanced in terms of technology." He motioned his arms towards another console, urging Yuda to follow him. He did and so did a resigned but seething Shiva who is currently planning how to get back on the blonde man. Inside the cubicle, is a reddish – orange haired young boy who has the same yellow green eyes as the blonde man. The blonde man smiled on the boy and he smiled back.

"My little brother, Maya, will show you more." Yuda, recognized the boy and petted his hair. The boy giggled, making Shiva angry and jealous at the same time.

"My, if it isn't Maya." He stopped petting and the young boy, called Maya, looked up at Yuda, smiling.

"Hehe! I want to help out too!" Shiva snorted and looked at the boy with superiority.

"Oh really? What can someone – who is not a FULL BLOOD – do?"

[HA! Take that Kira, you bastard!If I can't pick on you, I'll pick on your "little brother" instead!]

Maya looked offended and Kira looked really angry and was about to lash out when Yuda looked down at Shiva, not pleased.

"Shiva." The said man buckled. Not happy that Yuda looked at him disapprovingly.

"B-but Yuda…" Yuda only looked more displeased.

"Apologize to Maya. Regardless if he is a half blood or not, he is still one of us." By now, all the people are now watching the event and Shiva is blushing even more, this time, due to embarrassment. Not just the thought that Yuda was scolding him but he is taking Maya's side over him, a full blood just like him.

[Why is he taking their side?!]

"S-Sorry." He was now trembling; he cannot believe that he, a full blood, is apologizing to a half blood. It is the epitome of shame for him. Maya, unsure what to do and cannot believe that a full blood is apologizing to him, nodded weakly.

"I-It's okay." But Kira objected.

[There is NO way am I going to accept such apology. I am going to make him pay!]

"It's not enough." Icy words came out of Kira's lips. Maya looked at him worriedly, pulling on his older brothers' hand.

"I-It really is okay, Kira – niisan. Please…" Kira pulled away from Maya's hold and approached Shiva, just a few feet away and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Say it like you mean it." Shiva was looking incredulously at him.

[What...did he just...said?!]

The purple haired young man is trembling with subdued anger. Awkward silence follows. When Shiva made no further action, Yuda sighed inwardly.

[Please, I don't need this now.]

Yuda fully faced Shiva while the shorter man looked up to his handsome, angelic face, as if begging.

"Shiva." The tone in Yuda's voice left no place for argument. Shiva is about to cry. From the humiliation of apologizing to a half blood to having Yuda looked at him disappointedly.

[I don't want Yuda to hate me...better apologize, make a poker face, Shiva...I can do that...comeon, for Yuda...]

Resigned, he bowed his head for a few seconds and then looked directly to Maya then knelt on one knee, still looking at him.

"I'm sorry, Maya. I admit my mistake and please find it in your heart to forgive me." He made his voice and face as convincing as possible. Maya, who was clutching on Kira's arm, nodded vigorously.

"Yes! Yes! Please, just…" he got flustered and stopped midway. Shiva stood up, collected whatever pride and dignity he had and excused himself and left. Luca then came in at the same time and looked at the young man and stopped, thought that something was wrong and looked at the crowd before him. Yuda massaged the bridge of his nose and looked tired all of a sudden. Luca clapped, catching the attention of the other people inside the room.

"Alright, back to work. The faster we finish this, the faster we can get home." The room buzzed back to life and looked at Yuda, silently saying 'I'll handle this'. The red haired nodded and looked back at the siblings.

[Thank you, Luca]

"Maya, please continue." Maya nodded and went back to his pod terminal and pushed some buttons and showed the location to Yuda, the place that he believed he has been seeing in his dreams. Maya talked while displaying the images on the floating screen.

"Commander Yuda, I am still amazed as to how you got a clear and detailed description of the place, since we just arrived in this planet not so long ago. Also, we just had our training about this planet about the same time we entered it." Yuda just nodded.

[I knew it that there is something behind this... It just proves that my dreams MEAN something]

With humour in his eyes, he then looked at Luca, who has joined them at this point in time. The silver-white haired man returned the look. He then patted Kira's shoulder and placed the other hand on his hips, smiling.

"Well, we'll see." Yuda chuckled. Luca looked at Maya expectantly.

"So Maya, what is that place called?" Maya punched some more buttons and an enlarged image came on the floating screen.

"It's actually a historic mansion in Kyoto and the garden is located on the east side of it. Upon doing a scan in the area, there is a tube – like hollow expanse beneath the circular fountain that reaches as far as 5 miles." Luca raised an eyebrow while Kira made an amused whistle sound. Yuda just nodded, eagerly waiting for more information.

Maya continued.

"And, said hollow place leads to a dead end square-ish room." He again enlarged the image and the 3 looked at it. It was a 3D rendition of the area. Maya pointed the location of the room.

"Here. Out of all the things that are still working in this planet, it's located here." Yuda followed the young man's' finger. It was one of the many rooms in that place.

"Did you run a scan of what that thing was?" Kira asked his little brother. Maya shake his head.

"I did but I can't get a definite picture of it. But I can assure you it's not those 'things'." Kira nodded absentmindedly. Luca saw the look on Yuda and had to smile. Even without using his power, he completely knows what exactly is running through his long time friend's mind. And he will say it now.

"Alright, I'm going." The red haired man's voice is full of determination and finality. No room for argument. Kira stands again attention and saluted.

"Commander! Allow me to accompany you!" Yuda shook his head.

"I'll go alone." Luca shook his head also.

"That we can't allow you to do. We'll go with you." Yuda was about to protest but Luca held one hand up.

"If we let you wander ALONE, in a place where the possibilities of those things crawling out there, is out of question. I will not be able to face Father if anything happened to you." Yuda looked hard at the silver white haired man.

"I can take care of myself just fine."

[Oh my, are we getting stubborn now, Yuda?]

"I can use my powers there to help you in your search." Yuda stopped at this. Seeing hope, Luca continued. Kira watch in amazement as Luca did his 'magic' by persuading Yuda to think otherwise.

"I can definitely tell some things that will be beneficial for you." Yuda was silent, pondering on this thought.

"So? Still going alone?" The red haired looked on the left, still thinking.

[Well, he does have a point there]

Considering what Luca just said, he finally agreed.

"Alright." And he left to get ready. Luca looked at Kira and winked.

"Get ready." Kira smiled, nodded and saluted.

"Yes sir!" then he also left to get ready.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: I do not own Saint Beast and its characters. Credits go to the original creator.

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The earth below shook and trembled as a small aircraft hovers closer down the ground. Then a blue light emerged underneath and 3 figures gracefully landed on the ground. All wear a vertically elongated, headgear where the face can be seen and a special metal alloy covers the back. And an all-white colored suit, Yuda and Luca have purple linings while Kira has black linings. Kira's duty as sentinel, made sure the area is clear. The red haired Commander looked at the slowly dying planet. The skies have become redder than usual, black clouds occasionally appear followed by black colored rain. For some reason, he feels his time is getting shorter and shorter.

[I have to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible...before this planet disappears.]

Yuda and Luca proceeded to enter the mansion. The majestic looking gates, once colored black, are now tainted with rust, cobwebs and dust everywhere. Yuda raised one hand and opened the door without touching it. Luca followed and then Kira. They continued walking on what look like a pathway towards the entrance. A double door opened again as if a soft, gentle breeze passed through it and 2 figures entered the ominous looking mansion.

"This is a big house…I think they call it, a 'mansion'?" Kira looked all over the foyer and made sure that they are only 3 beings inside the place. Luca nodded.

"That is right. But since this is Japan, an Asian country, such model is a rare sight. The previous occupants must have been very wealthy, in the human sense of livelihood." Kira nodded and made sure he checks the area very well. Yuda, was looking at the set of pictures in what he thinks might be the living room. On the wall, everything was covered in dust and some with dried red colored liquid that he knows is called blood. It looks like a family of 4: a father, mother and their children, who looked very much like each other.

[I think they call this phenomenon as identical twins.]

"Doctors." Yuda looked at Luca, eyes close while his fingertips were touching the picture, reading it.

"All of them, a family of successful doctors. That explains this house." He then opened his eyes and gazed at the stilled images around him. Yuda nodded. He looked at where Kira is located – the blonde is investigating not far from them but enough to discuss something without the blonde hearing it – then turned to his friend.

"What do they have to do with my dreams then?" Luca can only shrug.

"I have no idea. We need to go to the area where the fountain is, right?" Yuda agreed and followed Kira who already cleared and surveyed the area and deemed it safe. They passed an opening that looks like a hallway then through the dining area, kitchen and finally the back door that leads to the garden. Yuda noted idly that everything, except for the living room, were kept tidy after all this years. He can just imagine the chaos of what happened during those times, especially with those 'things'. Luca looked at him, a little worried but he shook his head, indicating to his silver-white haired friend that everything is alright. The back door was locked. Kira stand guard as Yuda easily opened the door the same way he did awhile ago and continued to walked, leaving the 2 behind. Kira catch up to him and dutifully scanned the area, Luca following leisurely.

The area they are now is an open space; the left side has an Olympic size pool that has those 'things' crawling but cannot get out. Kira made sure they stay there and resumed clearing the area, occasionally looking at the pool for security measures. To the right is a stone pathway leading to a fountain, which is surrounded by oddly shaped bushes. Yuda went straight there and Luca saw this.

[I've never seen Yuda this impatient before...]

"You should not hurry, Yuda. It's not going anywhere." Yuda just continued his walk with a highly composed Kira following behind.

[It's as if I have been here before and yet, this is my first time coming in this planet. Strange, what dreams can do...]

The fountain looks exactly like what he has seen, every detail of it. But the music that he heard so clearly in his dreams is unsettlingly missing. Yuda looked confused.

[Where's the music?]

He stopped. Kira, happy that the area is secured, joined the red haired and looked at the dried up fountain. Luca, after touching some inanimate objects lying around, soon followed.

"Is this it?" Yuda can only nod. He is beyond speechless. He does not want to admit that it is bothering him that the music is missing. Kira surveyed the fountain closely.

"It is the one. Exactly like in my…" Luca placed one hand on Yuda's shoulder, effectively cutting him off. Kira looked at them, questioningly. Luca just shook his head.

"I know. I am starting to believe that some type of force is directing you towards something. The question is: what?"

[What could be that 'force' strong enough to caught our kinds' attention? I really want to know.]

The red haired was grateful when Luca did not say his inner feelings, his uneasiness about the missing melody. Yuda only nodded, part of him is still searching for the music. Kira stopped and looked frustrated.

"So, how does this thing open? This fountain looks unmovable...I can't see any where we can push or press…can't the humans make a better technology?! And talk about weird design…" Yuda just chuckled, slightly relieved for the change of topic.

"Allow me." And just like in his dream, he approached the fountain and immediately spotted the baby turtle. He smiled warmly when he saw it.

[Well, hello again, little one]

Kira saw Yuda's unguarded smile and wondered who or what could be the one that makes the red haired show such emotion he never show to anyone. Seeing it made him feel honoured and promised to himself that he would like to know the reason behind their Commander's warm smile.

Meanwhile, he reached for its shell, felt along with it and felt the all too familiar button and pressed it and backed away at a safe distance.

"Now watch." He smiled when the 2 just looked at him. The ground shook and tremble and the center pole moved aside, as if draining the water which is no longer there. Then all was quiet. Too quiet. Kira was starting to wonder that maybe something wrong happened.

[...That's it?]

"Uh, Commander?" Yuda just placed one finger over his lips, and he shut his mouth. The ground gave another shake, this time it's longer and more powerful. The 2 watch with amazement as the stairs appeared out of nowhere.

"Well, I'll be." Luca crossed his arms over his chest, amused. Kira just raised an elegant eyebrow, looking at the now gaping hole with suspicion.

"Seems like we need to go down." Yuda nodded and Kira prepared to go down when he was stopped by their Commander, placing one hand on his shoulder. Kira looked back.

"It's going to be cold down there so be ready." The blonde was not so sure how would the Commander know it but as a soldier, you never question your superior's order. Never. Kira nodded and proceeded downward.

Just like in his dream, the steps are illuminated by a soft white light every 5 steps. Luca was touching the wall of the tunnel. The only sounds they can hear are their footsteps softly descending the man-made stairs.

"This place…took a lot of work."

"No kidding. With the human's technology, I bet that it took them years just to make this one." Kira said, becoming alert as he went deeper down the enclosure. Luca nodded.

"Yes, 5 years to be exact. It was meant for a nuclear attack." Yuda, who had been quiet for awhile, mind occupied by some thought, looked at Luca.

"Not for the one we have encountered?" Luca nodded again.

"Yeah, apparently, those things were the least of their worries. Actually, it never occurred to them." Yuda nodded and went back to his own musings. His uneasiness has now turned to a confirmed discomfort. Everything else has matched his dream except for one thing.

[It really is...gone]

"I thought there was music down here…" Luca, reading Yuda's tense shoulder, finally voicing out his readings awhile ago. His hands curled to a fist then tried relaxing it by uncurling the fingers.

"Yes. There should be. But now, I can barely hear it." Kira more of felt than heard the troubled voice with Yuda. Remembering his Commanders' advice before they started the descent, he pressed a button on his suit since the temperature is dropping fast.

[Why is it cold in here?]

Then both of them followed Kira and pressed the button for temperature modulation. Then they all fell silent. The silence which is all too much for Yuda to handle.

[Something's wrong here...]

"Kira, please go faster." Yuda's voice sounded tight. Kira nodded and went down faster. They finally reached the final steps then the floor with the safety lights now hugging the wall. Kira stopped, all of a sudden, becoming alert; his sensors are getting a weird reading. He motioned for the other 2 to stop. They too become alert because, clearly, something is wrong. Very wrong.

After descending the stairs, they have finally reached the bottom. Just like in Yuda's dream, it was covered in darkness because the lights were on the floor and they shine feebly. Along with the darkness is the tremendous drop in temperature. Yuda looked on his temperature gauge system and it showed him a -96 degrees Celsius temperature. The walls and the floors are almost covered with a thin sheet of ice. Further ahead, they could no longer see anything because it is covered in absolute darkness.

"I don't like this atmosphere." Luca noted, looking around at the area where they are now. The safety lights only go as far as 5 steps ahead. Yuda furrowed his brows.

"This…this did not appear in my dreams." He more like said it to himself. Luca heard him and gently nodded; he then placed one hand on the red haired shoulder.

[So he is not sure what happened next]

"I see. We will not go further until back up comes in then." He then pressed a button on his wrist and punched in some buttons. He barely noticed any movement until Kira came to him, frantic and panicking.

"Commander Luca! It's Commander Yuda! He-"he stopped midway because his sensors gave him a more accurate reading of something heading their way. And it's not the backup Luca called. Luca followed where Kira was pointing and was barely able to see the small spherical soft blue light glowing and then it disappeared on the black abyss. If he was a human, he was feeling what they call "heart dropping to the stomach".

"Yuda!"

[Why? What happened here?]

With his soft blue energy light, he walked the corridors of a somewhat large rectangular area. He noted that there was blood along the walls, covered by thin ice. He stopped and closed his eyes, listening for that one melody that has flooded his most recent dream. Now that he is finally here, he can no longer hear it. He opened his eyes again and furrowed his brows.

[Why? Why can't I hear it?]

He looked ahead and all he can see are more doors closed, blood covered by ice on the walls and an irregular, circular hole on the further end. He was about to walk further deep when a steel – like grip stopped him.

He looked and saw an alarmed Luca and an equally alarmed Kira.

"What the hell are you doing?! This place spells trouble! We have to get out of here!" His friend must have seen what he saw awhile ago. A strange, colossal creature was lurking nearby but when they arrived, it started a strange motion but it is definitely nearing them. Kira is speaking on his own speaker, barking orders frantically while he is looking on the surroundings as if something unexpected will appear anytime.

"I'm not leaving, Luca. I have to get it first."A vision struck him, he felt that he needs to get something – an object – and he needs to get it before he leave this place or it will disappear forever. He suddenly felt a very strong emotion to get it no matter what. And was again about to walk but was stopped again by Luca, this time, more forceful than before.

"Yuda! Are you out of your mind?! We have to get out! NOW!" This is the first time that he has seen his silver-white haired friend panic. Yuda somehow understands. Ever since they have arrived in this slowly dying planet, they have just encountered nothing but THEM. Nothing special ever came out. Until now. The red haired brusquely slapped Luca's hand away. Luca was stun, his face showed how shocked and surprised he is with Yuda's action.

"And I said I am not going back without it!" and before the silver haired could protest, he used the hover of his suit and quickly went to the further end, the door closest to the gaping hole. Yuda has no idea what that thing is but he knows he has to get it FAST.

"Damn! Kira!" For the first time, Luca felt frustration. When he looked back, Kira is in a stance ready for battle; apparently he has already finished talking and is holding his whip. This stopped Luca short.

[Don't tell me...]

"What?-" Kira shook his head, holding his whip tighter.

"Commander Luca, please, if you have to drag Commander Yuda out of here, do it. Maya just detected something that is not like the ones we have been seeing so far. Far menacing. The Special Forces are coming down here as we speak, they will take care of it. Commander Yuda can get whatever it was that he needed to get here later." Luca, realizing the severity of the situation made a quick and final decision. One that he knows Yuda will not be happy about.

[I'm sorry Yuda, but you're safety is our outmost priority here...]

"Wait here for the backup. I'll haul Yuda out here. Secure the exit as planned." Kira saluted Luca.

"10-4!" He then brought out 3 metallic looking balls and threw it on the floor. After hitting the floor, it emitted a soft blue light that engulfed Kira and surrounded him in a diamond shape form.

Satisfied that the blonde is safe, Luca immediately went after the red haired.

TBC

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P.S.

Thank you for the reviews! I appreciate it very much! ^^

Please, continue on supporting me! ***bows deeply***


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** I do not own Saint Beast and its characters. Credits go to the original creator.

**Theme:** AU, slight OOC

**Characters:** Yuda, Luca, Kira, Maya and Shiva (for now...)

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He only gave the hole a brief look and opened the door closest to it, his hands inches away from the door. It was a small room, painted dark gray, barely decorated and is in utter mess. The bed is in good condition, looks as if no one used it and works more of a decoration than a place of rest; a corpse, preserved because of the very low temperature of the room, sits on the far end of the bed, and it looks like a woman; the table was thrown on the floor with the lamp near it; the bulb has smashed into tiny pieces, the chair was also on the floor – or what appears to be a chair, almost 2/3 of it appears to have been eaten away. Then right next to it is a tiny object that caught his attention immediately. It is a rectangular shape box painted with mahogany brown with a plain design on the top cover, and the whole thing is also covered in ice. Upon closer inspection, there is a fern colored baby turtle on the top cover. He went towards it and Yuda carefully scooped it out then held it gently in his hands.

[A music box…is this where the music came from?]

He examined it closely, the spherical soft blue light floating nearby. The outside is undamaged but when he checked the inside, his fear was confirmed. There were miniscule pieces everywhere and when he turned the box to one side, he could still hear some gears that have been removed, destroying the fragile thing. The mirror is also broken but he found another thing that looked familiar. He picked it up and examined under the blue light.

[Another baby turtle, same as the one on the top cover.]

It is made of jade, and the only thing inside that looks intact. He closed the lid gently, trying to preserve of what is left of the music box and caressed it.

[Don't worry; I'll have you fix in no time…]

He stood up, contentment emanating from his sturdy body. Now he felt that he has finally gotten what he wanted in this place and is now feeling on following Luca when said man came rushing on the door, also in hover, more alarmed than he had seen before. Yuda looked at him, curious as to what could have made his friend look like this when he is usually calm.

"Luca?"

"Yuda! We have to-" It happened all too sudden. An enormous looking worm, with numerous sharp teeth around its mouth, made a huge hole on the wall closest to Yuda and went straight to the corpse that was sitting at the end of the bed, grabbed it, along with some of the wall where the corpse was leaning to, and went back to where it came in, leaving a debris of stones, dust and blood. During the sudden appearance of the worm, Yuda, instinctively clutched the music box tightly close to his chest and backed on the wall where the table once was. When the worm was gone, he immediately went towards a stunned Luca, grabbed him and out of the room, towards the exit. He pressed a button and a protective bubble enclosed the music box, flying next to him. They saw that the ground and the walls shook, and took it as a warning. Then he saw Kira, also in hover, and was waiting for them; 5 people behind him, aiming their weapons on what was about to come towards them.

"Hurry!" Yuda then released his hold on Luca, who, by this time has already come to his senses and is alert and responsive, and went pass Kira.

"I'm counting on you." Kira nodded then focused his attention on the incoming creature.

[Whatever you are, you are NOT coming near our Commander!]

"Don't let it get pass here! Kill it!" Kira barked his orders to the Special Forces and followed the 2 out. They are flying upwards and were halfway through when they heard a series of beams being shot below. Kira looked below and made sure that nothing follows them when another worm, identical to the one below, only smaller, appeared below Kira and went straight to the blonde.

[Oh? Care to fight me eh? You picked the wrong person, freak!]

"Kira!" Luca shouted and was about to aim his hands when Kira easily slashed the creature with his whip into tiny pieces and it oozed green blood everywhere. As they have finally left the long tunnel, the Special Forces men also emerged and followed them. They flew awhile longer, setting a considerable distance between them and the creatures just to be safe. Then everything is quiet again. Yuda stopped and looked down, watching the fountain and made a decision. He aimed his hands and a soft blue light appeared and sent it directly down, hitting the fountain and destroying it into bits. He also destroyed the house and Luca, using a powerful telekinesis, made all the rubble cover the place where the fountain was, effectively closing the tunnel below.

[That should do the trick]

The spaceship that sent them below a few minutes ago, hover over them and took them back in.

When they have arrived in their Mother ship, the smaller aircraft was then covered in a solution to get rid of any pathogens or any toxic substance that might have attached to it. When that was done, the men inside also undergo the same cleansing procedure before they are allowed to remove the suits. The 5 men who safeguarded the trio made a salute and sauntered off. The trio then went to another room where they change to their usual attires. Yuda gently laid the bubble encasing the music box on the seat and looked at it for some time. The 2, who have finished changing approached him.

"Well, that was quite the adventure! We will have to add that creature's information later on for further study. And the reward we got is a music box." Luca crossed his arms over his chest, smiling gently at Yuda. Kira looked quizzically at the music box also.

"Heh, so this is a music box? Wow...It looks fine, surviving all this years." Yuda gently shook his head.

[I wish it did survived that long...]

"No, I need to have it fixed. The temperature it had to endure all this years made a huge impact in terms of damage. Almost every part is destroyed to pieces." He then changed back to his usual robe and when he looked back, Luca was touching the music box and Kira was gently holding the baby turtle between his fingers.

"Whoever made this has a fixation of some sort on baby turtles. Or turtles in general." Yuda agreed. Then he looked expectantly to Luca.

"Well?" Luca shook his head slightly.

"I can't read it to well. Only, that the person who owns it, got this as a gift or a token of some sort." Yuda arched his eyebrow.

[Oh?]

"Gift or token of some sort?" Luca nodded. Looking at the music box from every corner, the broken pieces making sounds inside as he turn it this way and that.

"Yes. A man owns this." He furrowed his brows, getting deeper in concentration. "There is also a very strong emotion in this box."

[...strong emotion...]

The room suddenly became quiet. Luca looked at the jade baby turtle and Kira handed it to him gently and the silver-white haired man stared at it for a long time, as if the baby turtle will start telling its story if he did so.

"What strong emotion?" Kira asked, curiosity eating him like wild fire. He is always fascinated whenever Luca exhibits his unique power, reading. And whenever he uses his power, he is always honoured to have been included in such rare experience. Luca looked thoughtful.

"I believe the humans call it 'unrequited love'."

The three of them went silent again; processing this information as far as their knowledge of the human world goes. Yuda looked at the baby turtle as well. Luca continued.

[Oh...]

"The recipient loved the maker of this music box, very much." Yuda just gazed at the music box, understanding the underlining tone on those words.

"But the human who made this does not feel that way. It's more of...friendship only. It does not go beyond that." For some reason, Yuda felt relieved when he heard that. Kira whistled to that.

"Ah. So that is why you said 'unrequited love'?" Luca nodded.

"The recipient already knows but...I guess he is still wishing it will change someday..." Luca looked sad at that thought, Yuda mirroring his emotion. Processing that last information, made Kira feel dejected too.

[That is...not good. Actually, that is...kinda sad..]

Kira found this feeling disturbing. Hoping to rub this feeling off, he tried saying something.

"You know, it might have happened...this recipient, he might have gotten his wish after all. But with what happened to their planet and all..." He stopped himself. He knew he made a bad decision. Now, Kira just felt all the more depressed and a few seconds after, he looked mad.

[Man, these humans sure are complex beings!]

To stop feeling depressed, he started enumerating the negative things about humans instead. He can get angry instead of sad, THAT, he can handle. While the blonde goes off in his own world, a question popped out of Yuda. Something that he was hoping Luca may have seen.

[Here goes nothing...]

"Can you see the human who made this music box?"

"The maker of the music box? Hmmm, let's see..." Luca nodded. After concentrating for awhile, Luca nodded to himself.

[Hmmm, well, there is always a first to everything...let's see if I can do that...]

"Hmmm. The one who made the music box was...a man, I think. The image is a bit hazy..." Luca started pacing as he continues to look deeper on the history of the music box, his brows furrowed. Yuda followed his pacing, waiting and absorbing any information he will receive from his friend.

[A man...]

"Yes, I believe it IS a man..." Luca then sighs.

[Oh boy...]

"Once this is fixed I can get a clearer image...Oh!" Luca stopped pacing and looked surprised. 2 pairs of eyes looked at him. The red haired spoke first.

"What? What is it?" Any information will help him.

"I see a name..." Kira looked astonished.

"Oh? You can see the name? What's the name?" Luca nodded again. He squinted his eyes on the music box's top cover, as if trying to see something. Yuda was beyond impatient.

[Please don't leave me hanging...]

"Luca? What's the name?" the red haired asked. He felt excited after hearing this. This is the closest clue he can get to know the human behind the music box.

Luca looked at Yuda. It was the face Yuda knew: his friend has the answer.

"Kageyama."

"Kira – niisan!"

"Oof!"

[What the-?!]

With a loud thud, Kira suddenly found himself on the floor, with a very excited Maya on top of him. If beaming is even possible, he will be like that as well. Kira already knows what is about to happen.

"Maya!-" Maya just smiled even more.

"That was some adventure! I have never seen any action since, since…FOREVER! And you are so cool! And awesome! And strong! And cool! Slicing that worm into pieces with your powerful whip and-" Kira had to stop his brother lest he blush even further.

[Oh no! Who the hell allowed him to watch all THAT?!]

"Alright, that's enough Maya! I was just doing my job! Stop that already!" Maya shook his head as if his life is at stake.

"No! You are being humble! You're so cool! You really-" Kira's brain is having a hard time deciding which shade of red to use on the blonde's face.

"MAYA!" Luca chuckled.

"Well, Kira, feel the love. I sure envy you." Kira just scratched his head, embarrassed. His brain, noting that there are thousands of red out there, also stopped looking for other shades to use and decided on the simplest one: candy red color. Maya is still glowing positively, got off and let his big brother stand up and followed him inside the control room, still spouting words that Kira has no idea how to stop it from flowing like a dam. Luca, still chuckling went straight to the Commander's seat and barely sat for a few seconds when he felt another presence near him. He looked at him and saw a fidgety Shiva.

"Yes, Shiva? Are you looking for Yuda?" Shiva looked surprise. Luca just smiled.

[That should not be a surprise]

"He went to Takeru to fix the music box we got. Depending on what we might found out, we might be staying here a little longer." Shiva looked a little relaxed.

"Is Commander Yuda alright?"

"Of course. Couldn't be better." Shiva now looks happy.

"Thanks. I'll go to him now." And went straight towards the door when he heard Luca chuckle. He looked back and saw that the silver haired man is also looking at him, amusement in his eyes.

"I wouldn't if I were you. He seems on hell bent on knowing who our mystery man is." Shiva looked confused.

[Mystery man? What the hell is he talking about? Yuda does not waste his time on-]

And it finally occurred to him. What Luca really meant with those words without really saying it.

[If Yuda spares you his precious time, it means...]

A look of horror passed Shiva's face.

[...It means it's someone really important to him...]

With this thought in mind, he hurriedly went out. Luca just watched the fleeing man and gave a small smile. He then looked at the enormous screen in front of him and relaxed.

[You, of all people, should know that once Yuda started...he can't be stopped]

TBC

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P.S.

I have read all your reviews! Thanks so much! ^^


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** I do not own Saint Beast. Credits go to the original creator.

**Characters:** Shiva, Takeru, Yuda and Luca

===== IF YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL **(*), **THE DEFINITION IS ON THE BOTTOM PART OF THIS PAGE =====

* * *

[This can't be! It simply cannot be! I won't allow it! Yuda is MINE!]

Shiva was thinking all of this when he almost missed the room that he plans on going to. Takeru is the aircraft's physician and as a hobby, can also fix any broken objects or items that were damaged beyond recognition. Also, he has taken it upon himself to examine anything related to humans. He is very much curious as to how humans created such primitive objects despite living for almost millions of years already.

Shiva does not like talking to anyone but Yuda; but since the red haired has made himself MIA (*) and cannot be found (he tried checking the area reserved only for the Commander's but he does not have the proper authorization, so he cannot go any further), it appears that he needs to ask the last person Yuda spoke to. The door opened when the sensor detected him and he entered the room as if he owns it. He is immediately assaulted with white colour everywhere, with a few health related items and gadgets here and there. Most of them were unknown to him.

[Probably some human object...ugh! Disgusting!]

He then saw the man he is looking for, sitting on a floating white, circular chair and was reading something on a white, round table. Takeru, a handsome man with long black haired neatly kept with a simple red ribbon, wearing an all white suit covered by an all white coat, looked up at him and was shocked to see Shiva standing in front of him, who is obviously regretting his decision of entering the all too white room.

[Oh, well, this is new...Did unicorns grew wings and are now flying in space?]

And as if to check if that was the case, he looked out at the nearby window to see if there are any flying unicorns out there. Shiva looked at the man strangely, unknowing of what thoughts running inside the doctors' mind. Said doctor, who concluded that there are no unicorns in space looked back at his unexpected visitor and stared.

[Huh...no unicorns with wings. That is very much...disappointing]

Shiva stared back.

[This doctor is SO weird!]

Then there was silence in the room, awkward silence. Sighing inwardly, he knew that Shiva will not speak first so he obliged the man before him.

"Shiva? (He had to make sure it really is him) What are you doing here? I doubt you are sick if you can stare at me for that long." Shiva just looked at him. Alright, he dislike people in general, especially this doctor. He just made it first on his "disliked-people-and-need-to-stay-the-hell-away-from-them" list. He then looked down on the doctor.

[This is for Yuda. For Yuda. For Yuda.]

"Where's Yuda?" Takeru raised an eyebrow.

[The Commander? Oh, wait...what's new? The only word this chap knows is the Commander's name...]

"He already left." Shiva's eyebrow twitched.

[He...LEFT?! Already?!]

"Where is he?"

Takeru shrugged.

"Dunno." Relieved that he does not have to talk to this man any further, he made a motion to leave. Then he left just as abruptly as he came in. He will have to ask authorization from Luca then. Takeru watched him go at the door when he suddenly thought of something. His mischievous brain surprises him sometimes.

[OH! I need to test that device! If it works... ]

"Shiva! Wait! I know where the Commander is." He knows that unless he used Yuda's name, the young man will not stop. It had the desired effect. Shiva stopped, just right outside the door, looking at him suspiciously.

['Where he is?!' A few seconds ago you said you don't know and now, you contradict that earlier statement! Freaking, weird doctor! I hate you! But...for Yuda...I will valiantly clear this obstacle known as "the doctor" and emerge victorious...I WILL HAVE THE LAST LAUGH!]

"He is not in his room, if that's where you're headed..." At this statement, Shiva looked confused.

"Where would Yuda go other than his room?" Takeru approached the not too happy Shiva and shrugged.

"Beats me. Sometimes, they just need to unwind somewhere where they feel...comfortable. Here, this will help you." and offered him a circular metallic device.

[This doctor likes circle huh...ugh! Pathetic!]

Shiva looked at it begrudgingly.

It has a green colored screen with grids on it and a button on the top most part. It was a human device, that Shiva can tell, but as for the function, it eludes him. He continued looking at it and looked at the man before him, smiling as if he finds something funny. He feels that there is something wrong here but the thought that it will help him locate Yuda's whereabouts made him blind and ignore what his mind is telling him.

"And? How does this stupid human device can help me find Yuda?" Takeru smiled even wider.

[Oh-ho! Got him!]

"Yuda himself found this and gave it to me to have it fixed. It is used to locate things, but I made it better by making it locate living beings as well. You can push the button to locate whatever OR whoever you want to search. The Commander's name is in the top most lists, by the way." Shiva's face immediately brightens at the concept of finding Yuda easily, maybe asleep and defenceless, and then he can have him all to himself. He can feel his face burning at the images his mind oh so generously provided him. Takeru is watching this with amused eyes.

[Goodness, he can't even hide it...]

Shiva caught himself and he then snatched the device out of Takeru's hand and looked at it from all sides. Deeming that the device is harmless, he suddenly left the doctor alone.

"Be careful with handling that!" he shouted and is not sure if Shiva heard him or not.

[Well, I DID try to warn him...sort of...]

"..." He shrugged and went back inside. Instead of going back to his work, he stop just behind the door and listened outside, as if anticipating something to happen. Then a loud thud echoed on the corridor and took that as his cue.

[Ah...It does work...]

He went outside and went the same way that Shiva took and saw the body lying on the floor, fast asleep. He smiled like a mischievous boy and approached the sleeping young man. Shiva is by all means, knock out cold. Takeru bent down and retrieved the all-too important item and placed it inside the pocket of his coat.

"…and that what happens to anyone who does not say thank you. Now…" he produced a small round, pink object and flicked it towards Shiva. Said man is encased in a pink bubble.

"Don't disturb the Commander. He needs to have plenty of rest. As for you...this will serve as your punishment!" He then went to Shiva's quarters and placed the sleeping man on his bed and left, and then went back towards his lab.

Once inside, he looked at the music box that Yuda gave him a few minutes ago. Actually, he already finished fixing the mysterious item. He recalled their earlier exchange.

_He was analysing the contents of the worm that Yuda and the others encountered when the said man appeared and walked towards him. He smiled and the red haired smiled back._

"_Well, if it's not Commander Yuda. What can I help you with today?" _

"_I found something on the mansion we went to a while ago. I was hoping that you can fix it." He then presented the music box. Takeru held it gently, looking at it. _

_[Well, this is strange...being attacked by a gigantic monster, no problem. Getting a souvenir is another...oh well, let's see...]_

_Then he opened it and gasped. Yuda nodded._

"_I know. But it can be fixed, right?" Takeru nodded. He noticed the slight worried tone that is not common with the red haired._

_[Oh...? Anxious to have this fixed, eh?]_

_He carefully removed the small shards._

"_Yes, no problem on that. But boy is this rare antique or what! How did you know it was there?" He did not looked at him and worked at it immediately. Handling every piece with great care._

"_My dream told me…or rather, directed me to it." Takeru nodded absent mindedly. Other than Luca, the doctor also knows of Yuda's dreams and is very much updated up to the most recent one._

"_I see. It might take a while so you can rest for now. I will bring it to you once I'm done." Yuda nodded._

"_Do you need this to fix the music box?" He held out the jade color baby turtle and Takeru looked at it._

"_No, no need. You can take it. Go get some rest now, Commander."_

"_I will." But Yuda still lingered, watching him as he work wonders on the broken music box. Takeru finally noticed and placed one hand on his hip._

_[Well, I'll be...]_

"_Seriously, Commander, I'll take good care of it. Rest assured when you wake up, it's as good as it was when it was first made." Yuda just smiled._

"_I want Luca to read it as soon as it's fixed. He said that he can probably read it better that way."_

"_And it will be fixed once you get some rest. Now, go get some." Then he had to playfully shove Yuda out and made sure that he is inside his room before he went back to his work._

[He sounded like he wants to know more about this music box. Strange, Yuda wanting to know something that came from a strange yet primitive planet. This is definitely interesting...]

He knows the Commander as someone who is more to himself. He never heard that he took interest in anything other than his people's welfare. So, the fact that he, FINALLY, did take an interest, it has to be this object. From a primitive planet. The reason behind such behaviour is avoiding him.

{Oh well, I will learn that in a few minutes. Commander Luca is on his way here]

Takeru then looked at the brand new looking music box.

[It only took me a few minutes to fix it. I doubt that is enough for Yuda to rest. I'll call him later.]

He then placed it gently on a cushion and a bubble appeared to protect it and he went back to reading the notes and data that is requiring his attention.

Clear blue eyes looked intently on the small figurine, checking if it might have the same mechanism as the one on the fountain, but found none. So he contented himself on looking at it, as if it will show him the answers to his questions.

[You must really like turtles, huh?]

He felt his eyes getting heavy. He gently held on the baby turtle figurine and closed his eyes.

[I wonder if my dream will tell me more…]

"_It's for you."_

"_For me?"_

_A nod. Then a blush._

"_I hope you like it."_

_Silence. A silhouette of a man looking in awe at the item that he is holding._

_The other man fidgeted._

"_You…don't like it?"_

_Head shaking vigorously. He looked at the man who gave him the gift._

"_I…I love it! Thank you!"_

_Warm smile. Then intense blush._

"_It is kinda late but, Happy Birthday! The music is an original composition."_

"_Really?"_

_A nod._

"_Can I open it?" Another nod._

_A beautiful music floated in the air._

"_So beautiful…"_

_Blush._

"_Thank you."_

"…_But not as beautiful as you."_

_Intense stare. Blinking eyes._

"_Keigo…"_

_A hand over another hand. Squeeze._

"_I mean it, ####."_

[What?]

"_Keigo, I already told you…I-"_

"_I know. But I'm not giving up, &&&&."_

[Oi...]

_Silence. The music stopped._

"_S%%%..."_

A pair of clear blue eyes suddenly opened. He heard a beeping sound that might have been going on for a while now but he ignored it. He looked again at the baby turtle.

"S..."

The baby turtle looked back at him quietly. The beeping sound stopped but then another beep sound came, a transmission.

"Commander Yuda." Said man looked alert at the voice.

[Takeru.]

He sat upright, careful in holding on the baby turtle and listened.

"Commander, if you are already awake, please stop by my office. Commander Luca has a lot of things to tell you."

The room was already empty even before the transmission ended.

"Luca!"

Said man looked up and saw a slightly flushed Yuda.

"Yuda? Why are you in a rush?" the red haired approached the silver haired man and placed a hand on the Luca's forearm.

"You tried reading it, right? What else did you see?" Luca chuckled.

"Relax, my friend. Here, drink this first." He offered the drink that Takeru prepared for him. He drank a few, the solution inside the drink immediately working wonders as he felt his body relaxing. When he felt at ease, he placed the drink back on the table.

"Feeling better?" he nodded.

"Good. And yes, while you were sleeping, I read it again and I was right." Yuda drank more of the refill drink that Takeru prepared and thanked the man. He put the glass down on the floating table and he sat on the other chair, intent on listening on whatever Luca has to say. Takeru sat within hearing range, amused at Yuda's state.

[I want to see what the Commander will do after hearing this information...]

"You were right that you would be able to read more once it's fixed." Yuda said. Luca nodded.

"Here's what I got: A man that has a last name of Kageyama was the one who made the music box and gave it to another man named Tochibe Keigo." Yuda just nodded.

"I know." Luca was about to continue when he stopped short, noting what Yuda just said.

"You know?" the red haired nodded. Luca looked thoughtful.

"Your dream told you." Yuda just nodded again and the white haired looked thoughtful again.

"Okay…maybe I should do this the other way then. Tell me what you saw in your dream." Yuda recounted his dream a few minutes ago. Luca listened carefully.

"I see. I'm happy that there are still some that I can tell you." Yuda just waited patiently. Luca looked at his friend straight in the face.

"The man who made the music box…he's a doctor." This took Yuda by surprise.

"A doctor? Not a musician?" Luca nodded and continued. He looked at the music box and lightly caressed it.

"It's like a hobby; I'm not sure, maybe his talent? He plays the harp by the way. But his main profession is a doctor, more like a scientist because he is working on a theory of his about cryonics(*)."

The room was filled with silence, trying to digest this new information.

"A doctor AND a scientist...just like me." Takeru quietly said.

"Cryonics. Could he have…?" Yuda let the question stop there and looked away. Luca just shrugged. He knows fully well what Yuda meant.

"I'm not sure." Yuda made a fist, his face showing a myriad of emotions. Takeru is seeing more of the red haired emotions whenever the topic is the music box and now, the man who made the music box.

[Well, can't blame him. After hearing what Commander Luca just said, I became interested on this human too...]

Luca touched Yuda's arm. Yuda's emotion came flooding his senses.

"…Don't hope too much."

"I know." The red haired clutched the music box tightly.

"Have you listened to it?" He changed the subject in an effort to lighten the mood. The question caught Luca off guard. When he regained his composure, he shook his head gently.

"I was waiting for you." Yuda gave a small smile. He opened the music box gently and the room was instantly filled with the melody that before, only the red haired can listen. He also placed the baby turtle on top of the flat mirror inside the box and watched as its limbs were actual movable parts. It started wading in water which was the blue mirror. Luca smiled.

"Now I understand what you meant by 'calming effect'." Yuda just smiled warmly and listened to the whole music. They also have music but this one is different. The melody is very simple yet very pleasing to the ears.

"That is a beautiful music." Takeru said, now the thought of meeting and knowing this person who can make such beautiful melody became a strong resolution.

[He MUST be alive. I mean he did studied cryonics and must have placed himself on one so...Although their technology is really primitive...But still...]

Takeru looked troubled for once in his life. And, for the first time, he was assuming something. Because of his profession, he always based everything on facts. No ifs. No buts. But now, the desire to "assume" is eating him like a fire on a candle. He looked at Yuda who was still looking warmly at the music box.

[That was what the Commander was thinking...there is a possibility of it happening anyway...]

"It is the most beautiful music I have ever heard." Yuda looked down on it lovingly. The music ended, so did the baby turtle's movement. He then closed it gently. He sat there for a few more seconds before he held it in his hands and got up from the chair, determination emanating from his form.

"Yuda?" Luca looked up at his friend, noticing the change all of a sudden. Yuda looked at him.

"I still want to know. Whatever the result is, I'll…I'll accept it." Luca looked at him seriously, knowing all too well what Yuda is planning to do.

"Even if the result does not favour you?" Yuda averted his eyes for a second and looked back, strong emotions swimming in his eyes.

"Yes."

[Even if it will cause pain to me, I still have to know]

Luca finally smiled.

[Right, like I said, once started, no stopping him]

"I'll always be here for you, for all eternity, my friend." Yuda smiled back.

"Thank you."

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TBC

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Definition:

**MIA** – is an abbreviation for Missing In Action.

**Cryonics** (from Greek κρύος 'kryos-' meaning 'icy cold') is the low-temperature preservation of humans who cannot be sustained by contemporary medicine, with the hope that healing and resuscitation may be possible in the future.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** I do not own Saint Beast. Credits go to the original creator. Also, thanks for all the reviews! Much appreciated! ^^

**Characters:** Maya, Yuda, Luca, Takeru, Shiva, Kira and Saki

===== IF YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL **(*)**,THE DEFINITION IS ON THE BOTTOM PART OF THIS PAGE =====

* * *

"Maya."

Said young man looked up and saw Yuda seating on one of the Commander's chair, the other taken by Luca. His face brighten up and ran towards Yuda, gave a salute and stand in attention.

"I would like to request that you find a human base on the parameters that I will tell you. Can you do that?" Upon hearing the word 'human', the young man looked unsure.

"A human, Commander?" Yuda nodded and then looked on his lap, a wooden box sitting there and he was silent afterwards.

[Commander?]

Maya looked at Yuda's eyes and noticed different emotions in there.

[Determination. A bit of uncertainty and fear but...determination is stronger...this is, Commander Yuda?]

Maya nodded and gave another salute then went back to his terminal, starting some programs.

"I'm ready whenever you are, Commander!" Yuda nodded. He placed the music box right in front of him and stared at it for the longest time.

"Okay. The parameters are the following…" Maya nodded, ready for the task at hand.

"Japan."

"Kageyama"

"Male." The big screen in front of the 2 Commanders narrows down the list of people. Luca looked amused.

"That's quite a number of Kageyama's in Japan, quite a popular family name. Can you show the pictures of these people?"

"Yes. By the way, this information I got from their database goes as far as 2014 only." He pressed a few buttons and the list became a gigantic picture file. The two handsome men looked thoughtful on what they see in front.

"Maya, add long hair." Luca said. Maya obediently followed and from thousand pictures, it went down to hundreds. Yuda looked at him, as if asking for some explanation.

"I saw that he has his hair down, but I can't see what color. All I'm sure is that, it's not black."

"I see." He then went back, looking at the screen.

"Maya, please add on the parameters: doctor."

"Okay!" And from hundreds, it went down to half. Luca leaned back on his chair.

[Oh boy, it's like we are searching for a needle on a haystack...]

"It's still too many. Add cryonicist." Yuda said.

That nailed it. Only one picture showed up. They both stop and stared intently on the surviving picture. Hearing no more commands, Maya had to look up also to see if they found what they were looking for. He looked at the two Commanders and then at the picture. It matches the physical descriptions that he has put in so far: a man with long hair, a doctor and a cryonicist. But he looks so pretty, he could have been mistaken as a woman. He has cyan hair, pale skin, wearing glasses and gold colored eyes. He looks kind and warm.

"Is he the one you're looking for, Commander Yuda?" Yuda was speechless.

[Are you?]

Luca is also speechless.

"To make sure, why don't you add: musician, hmmm?" Three heads all look at the owner of the voice. It was Takeru and he stopped beside Yuda's seat and looked up, smiling.

"I'm interested on this human." Yuda just nodded and looked at the screen, hoping that it will not disappear when Maya put in the new parameter. After a few seconds, Maya looked up again at the screen, indicating that he finished putting in the command. The picture is still there. Yuda's mind is racing.

[It's you...]

"It's not that I am not convinced but this should nail it…add harpist." Maya did what he was told and four pairs of eyes looked at the screen.

The picture is still there.

Takeru placed his hand on Yuda's thigh.

"That settles it." Yuda did not move. Luca approached Maya, giving more orders and Takeru joined them. Yuda was fixed on his chair, unmoving.

[It's you]

He finally relaxed and amidst the sudden flurry of actions going on around him, he ignored it. He just stared at the smiling face before him. He lifted his finger and a mini screen appeared and it hovered near his face. The image was enlarged, noticing that the man has eyes the color of a setting sun, and then he looked at the person's name.

"Kageyama…Shin."

[The 'S' in my dream...stands for Shin]

"Alright, Name: Kageyama Shin, Age: 21 years old, Height: 177 cm, Weight: 58 kg, Profession: a scientist, to be specific, a cryonisicists, playing the harp is his hobby, has his own fan base – boy and girl – within the firm he is working for..." Luca had to arch an eyebrow on that but continued. "…he has three male siblings…" Luca looked up at the report he is reading from the metallic clipboard, the screen has all the information about Shin. He has already worn his all white suit in preparation to their descent back to the ground. Yuda was in the process of changing, the same all white with purple linings that Luca is wearing.

"If he did what I think he did, we will get them also." He said with finality without looking at the silver-white haired man. Luca just nodded and looked again at the clip.

[...]

"Maya and the others made a thorough search of their residence and I have sent Takeru to recover any precious items that they have." He pressed a series of buttons. "He is already there, accompanied by five men from the Special Forces." Yuda nodded, checking to see that everything is in order in his suit.

"Alright. We have to move as well. We have little time." For some reason, the gigantic worm that attacked them inside the tunnel went through his mind.

[I better move fast lest I run the danger of losing him...]

Luca looked at his friend thoughtfully.

"Yuda...I already said this: do not put your hopes up." Yuda stopped midway on arranging his suit.

"I know." He answered without looking at his friend.

He then stood up, all ready. He and Luca then head towards the door and saw Shiva there, standing, wearing also the all-white suit with black linings. He looked unhappy but was blushing at the same time. Yuda and Luca stopped.

"Shiva? What are you doing here?" Shiva blushed even more; hearing his beloved call his name sent pleasant shivers in his body. He reluctantly erases those thoughts and stands in attention in front of Yuda, and saluted.

"Yu-I mean, Commander! Please, let me join you in your mission!" Luca raised one elegant eyebrow.

"Shiva, do you even 'know' what the mission is?" Shiva stopped short.

[I…I don't know! Damn that Takeru! It's all his fault!]

He irritatedly remembers what happen before his coming here.

[Stupid device! Stupid Takeru! Stupid, stupid, STUPID!]

"Shiva." He snapped back in attention when Yuda called him.

"When a Commander asked you a question, you should answer." Yuda looked at him quietly, making Shiva shrink in his presence.

"I…I don't know…" he answered timidly. Yuda just sighed softly.

"I'm sorry Shiva but I cannot allow you to join. We are pressed for time. Please understand." He then walked passed him, followed by Luca. The smaller man turned around, thinking of all the words that he can use to persuade Yuda.

"Commander, please! Let me join you! You can brief me about the mission while we-"Luca turned around, Yuda went ahead, taking the clip from him.

"This is no ordinary mission, Shiva. This is important, most especially for Yuda. You are part of the support team, not the Special Force." This is the first time that Luca addressed him this directly, and against his will, he listened, watching Yuda disappear.

[A mission important for Yuda?]

"You are to stay on standby, understand?"

"But-"Luca looked hard at Shiva if he speak one more wrong word, he will be punished.

"I do not want to repeat myself, Shiva." Shiva swallowed hard. He gave a salute to Luca.

"Yes, sir, I understand…"

"Good. You are dismiss." he then hurried off, going the same way as Yuda took.

"We are leaving as soon as we are complete."

There are twenty soldiers from Special Forces, all wearing the all-white suit with blue linings on the edges. Two men, wearing the same suit except the linings are colored black. Luca then arrived.

"Sorry, I'm late." Yuda shook his head and looked apologetic to his friend.

"I should be the one saying that. Making you handle Shiva…" Luca shook his head then smiled.

"Nah. He understood anyway. So." He looked at the two guys that have the black lining on their suits.

"Kira and Saki will join us, huh?" Saki is an exceptionally handsome young man with short, reddish brown hair. He is one of the best captains in the Special Force. They both gave a salute and Luca nodded in return. Luca then looked at Yuda and the red haired nodded. He went to the front of the crowd, Luca, Kira and Saki stopped in front of him. The Special Forces also stand in attention.

"Alright, we have little time. I will only say this once, so listen carefully. Each of us four: I, Luca, Kira and Saki will have five Special Forces under our commands and we will descend to the ground. Refer to your comm. device so you can follow what I'm saying." Everyone followed and a screen emerged out of the tiny device worn around their wrist. Yuda continued.

"We have two objectives. First, my team will check if Kageyama Shin is still alive and if he is, we are to retrieve him back. Second, if his brothers are also still alive, we are to retrieve them all as well. That's when the three of you," he addressed Luca, Kira and Saki. "Come in. You are to get each one of them and get them here. Any questions?" Saki raised his hands.

"Yes, Saki." Saki then lowered his hands.

"What if the human named Kageyama Shin is no longer of the living?" Yuda was silent for a few seconds.

[...]

"Then we will check if his brothers manage to stay alive."

"But if not?"

Silence. Luca looked at Yuda.

[Then Yuda will never be the same...]

Yuda was looking at the floor then looked back at Saki.

"Then we immediately go back here and go home, mission complete. The Planet Earth is no longer safe to investigate. The toxic levels being released by various nuclear reactors are no longer tolerable. Even for us. It's just a matter of days before this world finally explodes. Any other questions?" no one raised their hands.

"Alright, you are to wait for orders until further notice. Until then, everyone is on standby. I need five Special Forces to join me." Five eager men joined him and they went to the circular pattern on the other side of the room. Yuda pressed some buttons on a floating screen and soon, they were all engulfed in a soft blue light and then immediately were gone. The rest of the Special Forces went on their separate ways, some stayed in groups while others checked their weapons or just plain talking with others. The three stayed close; Luca was looking at the comm. device, Kira is checking his whip and Saki look like he was thinking. He then turned to Luca.

"Commander, pardon me from asking."

"Go ahead, what is it?" He said without looking at the man.

"About this mission..."

"What about it?" Saki hesitated first before he speaks again.

"I have never seen the Commander so...so emotional on a mission. Also, his look when I asked if the human named Kageyama Shin is not alive...he looks like...like..." He was trying to find the word that best suits his observation.

"Like he does not want it to happen. That if the possibility ever happened," Kira looked at Luca. "He would not be able to accept it." Luca then stopped at looking at the device on his wrist and look at the two men.

[Is he that obvious that even other people notice it?]

"Maybe." Saki pushed through, determined to get answers.

"Commander Yuda is never interested in anyone; this is the first time he showed such sentiment." Luca just smiled.

[True. That's why Shiva is restless]

"Maybe." Saki looked frustrated.

"Oh come on, Commander Luca! " Luca just chuckled, he enjoys teasing Saki. Kira just shrugged. Then a loud beeper was heard. Everyone in the room stood still, all noise ceased and everyone's attention turned at Luca. His comm. device is blinking. Luca pressed a button.

"Yuda." The voice he heard next was unrecognizable.

"Luca, bring Kira and Saki down here. And bring some F2B(*) too..." and then the transmission is over.

It was the voice he never thought Yuda would ever use.

Amazement.

A few minutes earlier...

Yuda was in deep thought.

When he and his five men assembled on the circular pattern, what Saki said disturbed him greatly.

"_What if the human named Kageyama Shin is no longer of the living?"_

His brows furrowed.

[No. He is down there. Maya and I checked awhile ago]

Then they were transported down to the ground. Upon reaching the ground, they were in front of a big building with a name in front saying Tochibe Corporation. It was an 11-storey building that has bluish colored windows. The wall itself is colored gray blue. The Special Forces has already cleared the area and are already inside the building, waiting for him. The outside appearance of the building looks immaculate, no damage can be seen anywhere.

Inside, the lobby is very much in rumbles and blood everywhere. The Special Forces made a formation and followed where their comm. device is telling them to go, clearing the area of THEM along the way. Yuda was looking around with little interest because his mind is occupied at the moment. He was still thinking about their discovery awhile ago.

_When Luca had already left to brief Takeru of his incoming mission, Yuda went to Maya's pod._

"_Maya, can you find something for me?" Maya is more than happy to oblige._

"_Of course, Commander! What is it?"_

"_Can you search for a building that has a name of 'Tochibe Corporation' in front? It's colored gray blue with blue windows."_

"_Okay!" Then he typed a series of search parameters on his screen. He immediately found the one Yuda is looking for._

"_Here! Found it!" He enlarged the location and Yuda looked at it carefully. Maya suddenly noticed something._

"_Hey, isn't this near...?" Yuda just nodded._

"_Yes, it's near the Kageyama residence, where Takeru is going." Yuda looked thoughtful for a moment._

"_Can you scan the building, if there are any tunnels underneath it?" Maya agreed._

"_Wow, Commander, you are right! There is a large tunnel underneath the building." He typed a series of commands. "It's made of a very thick double reinforced wall and goes all the way down, up to 3.5 meters long. Each meter though, has a series of tunnels; it's like a huge trunk with branches on either side. At the root, all I'm showing is a big, circular room and then 4 short tunnels connected to it then a single room at the end of each tunnel. The rooms are connected to each other."_

_Yuda was studying the map._

"_Wow, humans sure prepared well." Maya looked sad after. "Unfortunately, they were not prepared to what happened after...Commander?" The young man looked up at Yuda, who was checking the root of the tunnel._

"_Maya, can you scan this part?" Maya looked back at his terminal._

"_What are we looking for?"_

"_Humans." Maya stopped short and looked at Yuda._

"_You think he could be there?" Yuda nodded, concentrating on memorizing the location._

"_Yes, can you do it?" He then looked at Maya. _

_Maya just nodded and wordlessly did what he was told to do. He pressed a series of commands and buttons. The screen blinked a few times. Maya then squinted his eyes. Yuda remained silent although he wants to ask the young man._

_[Well?]_

_Maya tilted his head, squinted some more, typed some more commands then stopped. He sighed and leaned back on his chair, looking defeated. Yuda looked at him worriedly._

"_Are you alright, Maya?" Maya nodded, then pressed something, enlarging the rooms that are at the end of each tunnel._

"_Commander, I'm not sure...there appears to be 4 bodies down there but..." Yuda braced himself. It is indeed a good news but there was the word 'but'._

"_But?"_

"_But...they are unresponsive to the stimulants that I released so, I'm not sure if they are alive...or maybe they are in cryo but..." He looked apologetic to Yuda. "Sorry, that's all I could say." Yuda smiled and petted Maya's hair._

"_No, you have given me more than I could have asked for. Thank you. Now, take a rest." He was about to leave when Maya held his arm. Yuda looked at the young man._

"_Maya?" Maya looked worried._

"_Commander, I would like to add, there are holes in there, same with the one you saw in the mansion. Also, there are two non – human activities down there. One of them maybe the worm, the other one, I'm not sure...the only thing I'm sure is it's not human..." Yuda nodded._

"_I understand. Thank you for telling me." He then smiled, and the young man smiled back. He released his hold on Yuda._

"_Anything for you, Commander! " Yuda nodded and left._

He snapped back in reality when he noticed that he is already at the end of the long tunnel. He looked around the room and noticed the various dried blood everywhere. And just like Maya had said, there were holes everywhere. The walls themselves were made of 5 plated steel materials plus double reinforced walls, so he can just imagine the sheer force of the worms to break through that. He got worried all of a sudden and landed on his feet. The Special Forces immediately went towards the old looking steel door, one for each while the other stand near Yuda, acting as the guard. Right beside each door is a black colored box that serves as the security badge reader. It does not look like it's working though. He looked at the four rooms in front of him. There were names on top of it and the one that he had learned a few days ago is on one of them. He quickly strode towards it and gently touched the name plate.

"We're finally here Commander!" one of the Special Forces said. The other men are eyeing the suspicious holes and are on guard. Yuda just nodded, staring intently on the name plate before him.

"Kageyama Shin." Said door is located on the far left side. Three more doors are on the right, evenly spaced with each other. He looked at his men.

"Look at the other rooms, check to see if the siblings are in there. Be on guard."

"Yes sir!" Three then went to the rooms and easily opened the doors, which had lost its function years ago. Yuda also opened the door easily and walked the small tunnel that leads to another steel door, this time no more name plate. He easily opened the door and stepped inside a room that immediately greeted him with frigid cold wind with cold mist enveloping the floor. He adjusted his suit temperature and when he looked up, held his breathe. In the center of the room, lies a big tube – like device in spherical shape, covered in ice. There were various devices beside it but none of them works anymore. He used the hover abilities of the suit and approached the tube. He then carefully wiped the area where he thinks the head might be positioned and even if the ice is covering it; he could see a blurred image of a male human face. He heard a beep on his comm. device and a voice followed.

"Commander Yuda, we saw a tube – like device in each room, a human is inside and appears to be in a perfect cryogenic state."

"This one too." Said another voice.

"So is this one. They are all well preserved, Commander."

"Your orders, sir?" There was silence on the other end.

"Sir?"

"Protect it at all cost. I will have Luca and the others follow down here." His voice did not show the feelings that he was having at that time.

[I finally found you, Shin]

He then switched his comm. device to call Luca. He can no longer hide his emotions.

"Luca, bring Kira and Saki down here. And bring some F2B too..."

He then gently touched again the tube, as if the man inside might be awaken, Yuda called out to him softly. The human who, in the few days he has stayed in this planet, captured his attention. He does not easily take interest on anything; actually, now that he thinks about it, he has not taken any interest on anything at all. This is his first time obsessing about...something, someone. It is such an odd, but a welcome feeling.

And Yuda does not mind at all.

"Shin."

With a push of a button, his head gear disappeared and he rested his forehead on the frigid cold glass tube and closed his eyes.

"I'm finally here, Shin."

When he opens his eyes, his eyes met Shin's closed eyes. He caressed the glass tube, where Shin's cheeks are located.

"I finally found you..."

TBC

* * *

Please review! Thanks much! ^^

P.S.

(*) – a cylindrical device made of metallic material that once it touches a hard surface, a bubble will envelop the person or the place. Usually used for protection.

In case you are wondering what the hell F2B means...I forgot... ^^;

I, erhm, only remember that B stands for Ball...I have no idea what the heck the rest means! It was such a long time ago! Sorry... TT^TT


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** I do not own Saint Beast. Credits go to the original creator.

**Characters:** Yuda, Luca, Kira, Saki...AND OMG! FINALLY! Goh, Shin, Rei and Gai! \(^o^)/

===== IF YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL **(*)**,THE DEFINITION IS ON THE BOTTOM PART OF THIS PAGE =====

* * *

Luca, Kira and Saki arrived within seconds and their own five men group trailing behind them. When they touched the ground, they immediately went to their assigned rooms to get the tubes out and take them back to their aircraft.

Luca gave orders to his own men and they followed it, going inside Kageyama Rei's room. Kira went inside Kageyama Gai's room and Saki, in Kageyama Goh's room. Luca then set 6 F2B and it all went on all sides: north, east, south, west, upward and underground. When they were in place, it emitted a soft pink glow and a force field appeared, guarding the entire room and also the rooms where the glass tubes are located. He looked at the walls where dried blood is splattered and the hole on the other end of the wall. He felt along the walls, touching the doors as well. When he finished and saw that everything is all set, he went towards the room with the name Kageyama Shin on it. Inside, Yuda's five men are busy disengaging the glass tube where Shin's body is safely kept, along with some other machines that they think might still be needed. Yuda was standing a few feet away from the tube, reminding them to handle the glass tube with extreme care. Luca smiled and approached the red haired. Yuda then noticed Luca's presence and smiled back.

"I never saw you this happy before." Yuda's smile just grew a bit wider then he watched as his men are almost finished with their task. Luca stood beside him.

[Yuda is not going to believe what I read here...]

"I've read a lot of things down here." That got Yuda's attention back to him. Luca then was walking beside the machines that was once part of Shin's glass tube and touched it.

"Of what kind?" Luca looked at the red haired.

"Lots of drama. Too many even for me to handle." He proceeded with the other machine, and he held a palm – size device and began typing in some notes of what he had read on the things he had touched. He meant what he said. There was an awfully lot of information in here, even he was overwhelmed. He needs to use some sort of device to remember all of that.

[Another first...why am I not surprise...?]

"Lots." Yuda repeated what Luca just said, thinking about it.

[Humans always lived their lives with drama occurring along the way...I hope that it did not bother Shin that much...]

"Does that include someone by the name of Reiga?" Luca stopped. He looked shocked.

"Yes...How did you know that name? Don't tell me you had a dream while you were down here? You were only gone for a few seconds..." Yuda chuckled.

[Oh Luca, my friend...]

"No, but I think your power is starting to rub off on me. Or maybe," he then looked at Shin's glass tube that is now off of its holder. "He told me about him. Tochibe Reiga." Luca also looked at Shin's glass tube.

[Oh...now that we are this close, does that mean...]

"Your brainwaves must be complementing each other. In tune, if I may. I have never seen such communication between a human and of our race. This is definitely a first." Yuda looked happy.

[It might not be the brainwaves since Maya confirmed that they are definitely not responding to stimulants...but still, there might be something that even us cannot or will not know...]

One of Yuda's men approached him and made a salute.

"Commander Yuda, everything is all set. We can transport him now." Yuda nodded then Luca went back to his assigned team because they also reported to him that they are ready as well.

"Alright, we wi–" Yuda stopped whatever he was about to say when he felt the ground shake violently.

"Use hover! The ground is unstable!" He ordered his men and another quake followed, this time, more powerful than the previous one.

"Place Shin's tube inside the bubble, quick!" He was worried that the impact might cause damage on the fragile glass tube. His men quickly followed and a third quake followed, this time, the walls shook as well. Kira came inside the room, also in hover; he looked panicked stricken.

"Commander, we have problem! Come!" and then he disappeared. Yuda reluctantly followed. He is worried that something might happen on the glass tube holding Shin's body.

"Protect him at all cost." Was his order before he left the room and followed the blonde.

Out of the room, he saw that Saki and Luca were also there, looking upwards. Luca saw Yuda and reported to him.

"It's those worms again. They all blocked the passage all the way up." He sounded calm but his face tells otherwise.

[They...?]

Saki answered his question.

"Yes, it appears that it's not only one worm but a whole lot of them! We can't contact the base or Maya either!" Kira looked more stressed when he heard his little brothers' name.

[Damnit. Stupid worms! Is this some kind of a payback or something?!]

"Why can't we contact them?" Yuda then looked on his comm. device and noticed that his does not work as well.

"It must be this planet's condition. Before we descended here, the condition outside is getting worse. Down here, it's still safe but I know it will only be a few more days for the toxicity level outside to reach down here." Luca commented. Yuda furrowed his brows. He looked up and the worms are trying to get in, but the F2B are holding their ground. The worms, no matter how big and strong they look, are no match with the small but very efficient balls. Yuda quickly formulated a plan.

[If we cannot go out the same way we came in...then, just create a new one instead]

"Luca, try to contact the ship through TTC (*). When they answer, tell them to create a hole where Kageyama Goh's room is located, coordinates X:987, Y:740, Z:651. We will escape through there." Goh's room is right next to Shin.

"I'm on it." Luca then made a series of taps on his comm. device. Yuda turned to Saki and Kira.

"Kira, Saki, bring Rei and Gai's glass tube inside Goh's room. Use as many bubble as possible, the glass look very fragile. Use hover on it as well. Clear the area where the hole will be created. Go!" the two men gave a salute.

"Yes sir!" they then followed their orders and went inside their corresponding rooms. Luca looked up and reported to Yuda.

"Yuda, I got an affirmation! They will make the hole within seconds." Yuda nodded.

"Alright, tell that to Kira and Saki as well. I will get Shin in there as well." Luca nodded then flew towards Goh's room. Yuda then went back inside Shin's room.

"All of you, we are to move Shin's glass tube in Goh's room. Use as many bubble on the tube as possible and use hover on it as well. Hurry!" He neared the tube and activated the hover. He then looked at Shin's sleeping face.

[I am not going to let anything stand between us]

"Don't worry, Shin. I'll get you out of here safely." They then moved the glass tube with ease, gliding along the ground. One of the men went forward and made a hole big enough for the glass tube to proceed. The worms were still trying to get in, causing a series of quakes.

"Don't mind them; they will not be able to get in. Hurry, the hole must be ready!"

"Yes sir!" They then went inside Goh's room. Inside there was a cylindrical blue light that has made a hole big enough for the glass tube to fit in. Luca is the only one left with Rei's glass tube and his five men. Luca looked relieved and ordered his men, two of them to act as vanguard, followed by Rei's glass tube then the remaining three men then him as rear guard. They were gone in seconds. Yuda then followed, three men first, him and Shin's glass tube then two men below them. The ground is still shaking. When he and Shin's glass tube were finally bathed in blue light, did he felt the tension from his body exiting. Then he felt the pull upwards and he knows that they are now leaving that place. For the past 48 years, the glass tube has become too fragile even for his own comfort. One wrong move and everything will be lost. Yuda gently placed a hand over Shin's glass tube.

"We're going to be safe now, Shin." Then he felt it.

The wall behind Shin shook and a worm, bigger than the worms they have seen so far, attacked them, more like, attacked Shin. But the enormous sharp teeth met the force field released by Yuda and were stopped.

[What the–? The F2B were no match for this creature?]

"Commander!" The three men above him attacked the monster worm and they were able to repel and it went back to the dark tunnel that it had created. Yuda was worried about the glass tube so he placed a 3rd bubble to keep it safe. He felt another shake, this time, below. It was the same monster worm and tried attacking Shin's glass tube but the two men below also fired at it, repelling it once again.

Something struck him as odd. They are still half way through when he tried to contact Luca.

"Luca, when you and the others transported the three siblings, did you encounter any attack on the way out of here?" There was a few seconds silence.

"No, why? Are you being attacked?" His voice sounded worried.

"I see. No, I'm fine. Just prepare a support attack when we resurface." He ended the transmission even before the silver white haired man could ask.

[It was as if it was attacking Shin...or was it trying to attack me?]

Then they got attacked the 3rd time, this time above them.

"Be careful, everyone!" They are ready this time and were able to aim on a vulnerable spot that made a lot of green blood ooze out. The men released a shield to protect themselves from the deadly ooze. It howled in pain then burrowed on the wall on the other side of the make shift hole.

"Is everyone alright?"

"Yes sir, no worries sir!" one of the men above said.

"We will protect you and the human with all we've got so rest assured, sir!" answered by one of the men below him. Yuda smiled.

"Thank you, on behalf of Shin as well."

They have finally emerged out of the hole with no more attacks from the monstrous worm. He saw Luca waiting with Shiva. He was surprise to see them.

"What are you doing out here? It's dangerous, go back to the ship." He saw the clouds and its color have changed from cloudy gray to partly yellow then partly fuschia pink. Even without knowing the meaning behind it, it spells trouble.

"I have to make sure you are fine, especially with that monstrous worm attacking you on your way out." Luca said. Shiva nodded.

"Sorry, Commander, you have no orders for me but I also want to make sure you are safe." Yuda stopped. He had to chuckle and smiled at Shiva.

"I'm fine Shiva, but thank you." Said man blushed all the way to his ears. Then all was quiet. All too quiet.

[Never trust silence...especially in a vast area...Shin is in danger]

Yuda carefully handed Shin's glass tube to Luca.

"Please, take him back and make sure Takeru takes care of him. I need to finish something here." Although confused and baffled at the request, Luca gently took hold of Shin's glass tube. Shiva is looking at the glass tube with suspicion and envy.

[another souvenir he fancied?!...it's too big! ...wait, did he said "him"?]

"What are you going to do?" Yuda looked down.

"Bring closure. I'll follow later. Bring Shiva with you." And he then left the blue light and descended. Shiva was about to follow Yuda but a grip stopped him. It was Luca.

"Shiva, follow Yuda's order. Bringing this back is the priority of this mission."

"But Commander Yuda is-" Luca shook his head.

"I know, I will go back down to help him. But first, we need to have Kageyama Shin taken care of." He then used hover and flew towards their ship, with a reluctant Shiva towed below.

[You better be safe, Yuda]

As he descended, he saw a figure that he has been seeing in his mind ever since he took Shin's glass tube.

[You must be Reiga]

He gently landed on the cemented floor and a few feet away from the hideous looking monster. It stands in two feet that looks like the feet of a prehistoric animal, T – rex. The head (or what looks like the head) is distorted beyond recognition and numerous blood-shot eyes almost cover the head area; blinking at different times with the mouth area looked like the piranha's mouth, with slimy substance and a torn human flesh hanging on one side. No nose or ears. Rotting muscles bulging from the old and torn human clothes, like a white lab coat. The arm looked like a reptile's skin with 4 strong short claws and is holding a menacing looking, blood soaked battle axe. Everywhere the muscles had bulge and destroyed what was left of the clothing. It looked angrily at Yuda, its mouth emitting a foul breath.

[Because I took him, right?]

It then emitted a loud, eerie roar, like a battle cry. Yuda readied himself, ready to fight.

[You can still understand me, right, Reiga?]

It snorted and made a sound that surprised Yuda.

"Shin..." then it attacked.

He was caught by surprise so the deadly claws almost hit him if it weren't for his quick reflex. It swinged its axe as if it was a rag doll he was holding. He quickly dodged the attacks and aimed an attack on the body. A small blue light appeared and hit the monsters body bull's eye. The monster staggered and gave another cry, as if it was hurt.

[Why did you do this to yourself, Reiga?]

Another roar and it attacked Yuda again, this time, with swift and precise action. Yuda had to fly off a little farther away to prevent the axe from hacking his body in half.

[Do you want Shin to see you like this?!]

The monster stopped. Yuda also stopped; he was in a position of firing another energy ball towards the monster. He now knew that the monster, once known as Reiga, can still understand speech. The monster tilted its head to one side.

"Shin..." a horrible, monstrous voice is heard.

[That's right. Shin. This planet is no longer safe for him. That's why I will take him to our planet where he can start anew]

This didn't sit well with the monster because it roared even louder, as if saying he disapproves of Yuda's plans. Yuda's brows furrowed.

[You have to understand, Reiga! There is no way for Shin and his brothers to continue living in this planet! This planet is dying!]

And he was answered with a high jump from the monster that catapulted it near Yuda and it swings its deadly axe and the red haired had to dodge again, but a kick followed the attacked and hit Yuda right in his stomach and he flew a few feet away. It was as powerful as a bulldozer ball swinging full speed.

"Oof!" His body was stopped from flying by a stray but enormous rubble. Dust flew everywhere. He clutched his stomach and noticed that the sharp nails also made damage; it pierced through his suit and made a big hole, royal blue blood oozed out of his stomach. He pushed a button on his sleeve and a soft glowing green covered the wound and is slowly closing it. He is panting hard and saw that the monster is running towards him full speed, axe high above his head, ready to deliver a fatal blow. With his other hand, he summoned a bigger ball of light and aimed at the monster. It dodged but the ball acted like a homing and hit it on the back, rotting flesh and green blood flying off everywhere. Another loud roar came out and it fell on the ground with a loud thud.

Yuda noticed a small, brown bag attached to the monster's waist but it fell off. Within the small bag, he can hear something solid when it hit the floor. The wound is now slowly closing when another earthquake occurred. Yuda tried to stand when a few feet away from him; a big sink hole appeared and appeared the monstrous big worm that was attacking them awhile ago. It stopped in front of him, as if regarding him for a moment.

[And you must be Keigo, the recipient of the music box]

It roared and made an indication that it will attack Yuda. The red haired prepared himself, the wound still not completely closed.

[Come, I will end your suffering as well]

He prepared his other hand for another energy ball when the gigantic worm roared again, green blood oozing out of its back and slumped on the ground with an earth shattering noise. Yuda looked at it, curious as to what caused it to fall when he saw someone flying just above the worm.

"Luca!" Said man gave one wave of hand and approached the injured man. This time, the wound has already close, leaving the trails of blue blood behind.

"Yuda!" He saw the trail of blood and looked at the face of his long time friend.

"We need to get this treated fast, Yuda. We don't know what those things might have with them." Yuda shook his head.

"They are not 'things'. They are Tochibe Keigo and Raiga." Luca looked back at the two monsters sprawled on the ground then back at Yuda.

"Well, that sure explains a lot and confirms what I saw awhile ago." Yuda looked surprised.

"You knew it was them? What happened? Why did they resorted to this?" Luca placed a hand on the red haired's shoulder.

"It's a long story and this is certainly not the place for such. Come on, we need to have you treated fast." He helped his friend to stand up when said friend froze midway of standing. Luca looked at him worriedly.

[Is the wound poisoned? Could it have...]

"Yuda? What's wrong?" Yuda looked up at him.

"The music..." Luca looked confused.

"What music?" Yuda then stood up, looked at his surroundings as if searching for something.

"The music from the music box, I can hear it." Luca then concentrated.

"It's...pretty near. Does that mean there was another one like the one we had?" Yuda did not answer but saw the movement of the huge monster known as Reiga. It was struggling to stand up but apparently, the attack really hurt him deep and he slumped back on the ground. Then it clicked in Yuda's mind.

"They are identical twins, right?" Luca looked at Yuda, not sure with the sudden change of topic.

"Yes."

"It means they were born at the same time." Luca nodded.

"Yes, so they have the same birthday–"Luca realized where Yuda was leading him.

"They...They have the same gift." Yuda nodded gravely.

"The music box. From Shin." With this in mind, he used the hover and flew near the place where the music is being played. Strangely, it was near Reiga and said monster is now standing up, unmoving. Luca noticed that the wounds that Yuda inflicted earlier are now gone. He looked back at the gigantic worm and the wound he inflicted had also completely healed. Luca looked deeply troubled.

[This is bad]

He was about to tell Yuda that they need to either fight and kill them or escape when said red haired looked at Reiga with sadness in his eyes.

"I see. I'm sorry, I misunderstood you." Luca looked confused.

"Yuda?" Said man turned his head to his friend, great sadness still in his eyes.

"I'll end it now. They," he looked at the two monsters unmoving then back to Luca. "Need to rest." He then kneeled and placed one palm on the ground and chanted a mantra, creating a seal around the two monsters, formerly known as Reiga and Keigo. Luca, who was still wondering what really happened, looked at Reiga and noticed that he was trying to open the bag where the music box is kept but cannot do so because of the limitations of his new hands. Reiga, as if sadden he cannot even touch it let out a sorrowful whine and tried again to take out the gift inside. The silver-white haired man knows what's inside it without looking since he saw the same device not too long ago. He felt sorry for the man turned monster all of a sudden.

[Such tragedy...]

When the music ended, Reiga succeeded in opening the bag and the music box rolled over. It flipped to one side (closing the cover) then flipped again (opening the cover). The beautiful music started again, this time Reiga is looking at it. He reached for something inside and when Luca saw it, it was the jade turtle. Reiga stared at it for the longest time then looked at Luca. After a few seconds, only Yuda's mantra can be heard when Reiga sloppily threw the jade turtle towards the silver-white haired man. Luca caught it and noticed it was a slightly bigger turtle than the one they had. Luca looked at the unmoving Reiga.

[So you are the eldest]

"Shin..." Luca was surprised to hear the monster utter such words. He blinked a few times to make sure he indeed heard him correctly.

"Shin...Shin...Shin..." He understands and now knew why Yuda felt miserable.

[You loved him, and continued to love him all this year's huh?]

The gigantic worm was also uttering some sound, as if calling also the person whom his brother is calling. It sounded sad to Luca's ears.

[You too...both of you loved the same person...]

This is too much for him and he can no longer look at them. He is also getting a lot of memories on the turtle so he had it put on a bubble and let it float in midair. He then turned his back on the two, knowing full well what will happen next.

[I pray that both of you find peace...I really do]

Yuda was then finished and stood up.

"I swear on my name as Yuda, prince of Planet Empyrean, that I will take care of Kageyama Shin and ensure that he will live a good life. Your sacrifices will never be in vain. Also," he took the jade turtle from Luca and looked at it lovingly then back at Reiga. "I would like to ask for your permission that I may love him as much as you have loved him, even more." Luca looked at Yuda.

[So, you finally acknowledged it]

The two monsters were unmoving, like statues but then he heard a snort.

[If you can surpass our love for him that is...]

Is what he thinks it might have said. Yuda smiled.

[Yes, I assure you I can]

Silence. The seals on the ground were emanating a stronger glow of blue light. Yuda knows they have no more time.

"It's time. Rest, your time has long past. Please leave Shin to me and I will guard him with my life. I will remember you two always." He then pressed the hover and flew away, Luca following below him. He did not look back when the seal was finally triggered. A series of sharpen earth pierced through the bodies of the two monsters from every angle. A loud roar was heard and he flew even faster. Luca is now flying beside him. Yuda looked sadden by the events.

"How did you know how to defeat them?" Luca asked.

"Reiga told me. When the music box played, it brought out his human side out. He told me that since their bodies regenerate at an alarming rate, single attacks will not work. It has to be a series of attacks that will not give their bodies enough time to recuperate." Yuda answered, holding the turtle in his hands tenderly.

"I see." They no longer can hear the roar of the two monsters. Then a blue light covered their bodies and they stopped their flying. Yuda looked one last time on the ground. He can no longer see them from this height.

[You two will forever be remembered]

The blue light then safely sent them back to the ship.

* * *

TBC

* * *

P.S.

TTC – another term I forgot...all I can remember is the C for communicator – forgive me, it has been YEARS since I wrote this and I have no idea where I placed the meaning behind this abbreviation... ==

*dives back in the rabbit hole*


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** I do not own Saint Beast. Credits go to the original creator.

**Characters:** Yuda, Luca, Takeru, Maya, Kira, Pinky (yes, she is here...)

===== IF YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL **(*), **THE DEFINITION IS ON THE BOTTOM PART OF THIS PAGE =====

* * *

Yuda quickly changed and holding the jade turtle in his hands, immediately went towards the medical ward. Luca followed him and they saw a group has crowded the windows of the medical ward.

[That's understandable. This must be the first time that they have seen humans who survived, given the conditions of their planet]

Yuda went straight to the door and saw Takeru who looks like he was thinking of something. The red haired approached him, worried.

"How are they?" Takeru looked at Yuda and sighed. He pointed at the glass tubes.

"Well, they are looking fine as you can see. But when I tried to open it, it won't let me. I don't want to force it opened and break it. So, as you can see I'm in a bind here." And he sighed some more. He then remembered something.

"Oh! How was your wound? Let me take a look at it..." He was about to approach their Commander when Yuda motioned for him to stop and he shook his head.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine. You can look at it later." Takeru does not look like he is convinced but then Yuda noticed something.

"Why is there a timer here?" He was already worried that the tubes were not opening, and seeing the timers was not helping things. It showed 1:43:09 and counting. Takeru just shrugged.

"Don't worry, Commander. I have checked each and every glass tube. No bomb or any explosive device in them. Whatever the timer is for, it's harmless. We just have to wait for it." Yuda relaxed upon hearing that.

[Oh, I see...]

Waiting was not his cup of tea so he went towards Shin's glass tube to pass the time. The ice inside is gone so he can now see clearly the face. He is more beautiful in person. He has pale skin, thick, long eyelashes, finely shaped nose and plump lips. He is about to touch the glass when the timer started beeping. The people inside all turned their attention on each glass tube as the beeping sound escalated to a higher and higher tone then all of a sudden stops. They patiently waited what will happen next. Then they started hearing an electronic female voice. It can be heard on each tube.

"sggiehgorffjsodjsolajdoeswdzcjzxlkckdslcjso" Silence. It was a strange language. The people just looked at each other and conversed in hush tones. Maya, who just arrived and went beside his big brother, looked confused.

"What? What did it say?" Kira shrugged and the same voice came again.

"aspocspadjwodpqwkdwladdlkvndskvndsvnvndslvnldsfmwapdkwdk" Everyone is baffled, reaching the same conclusion as Maya: they have no idea what the electronic female voice is saying. Yuda was thinking when he saw the small white rectangle with a red circle in the middle on Shin's glass tube. He now knew why.

"It's speaking in Japanese." Everyone looked at him.

"Switch on the language translator, set to Japanese." As he is saying this, he already switched his on. The people followed and soon heard the voice again.

"Checking environment for oxygen..." Yuda looked at Takeru. Said man just nodded.

"I have that arrange by the time they arrived here. This room has the same atmospheric value as the one they had back in Earth, well, when it was in its prime anyway." Yuda nodded and looked at Shin's glass tube. The girl's voice came again.

"Wow! This is perfect! Pinky is happy! Goh – niisan, Shin – niisan, Rei – niisan and Gai will be fine here!" Luca looked surprised.

[Woah! Is that what they call "female"?]

"Is it pre – programmed?" Saki shrugged.

"Don't know. Hard to tell."

"Now, let's see...next, checking the time lapse since cryonics started..." Then silence. 10 seconds. 30 seconds. 1 minute and still silent. Maya was starting to wonder if the machine broke down.

"OH MY GAWD!" All of the people around there were startled on the sudden outburst. Maya suddenly hugged Kira, completely scared out of his wits. Saki, Takeru, Yuda and Luca looked a little surprise.

"Nii – san!" Kira tried calming his little brother.

"Its okay, Maya. Hush..." He is rubbing Maya's back and glared at the closest glass tube where the girl's voice is coming from, which happens to be Rei's glass tube.

[Stupid machine!]

But then he also heard the voice on the other glass tubes so he is not sure who to use his infamous death glare (*) at anymore so he settled on calming Maya down first. Get angry later.

"OH MY GAWD! This is bad!" This caught Yuda's attention.

"What? What's wrong?" The girl answered.

"The glass tubes were made to withstood only 40 years of cryonics! TODAY is the 48th year already! ...OH MY GAWD! Someone spoke!" Saki raised an eyebrow.

[This is a pretty stupid machine...at least, we now know it is not pre – programmed]

"We have been here since the tubes arrived, you know." They heard a gasp.

"Another one spoke! What the?" Then a series of beeps was heard then silence.

"N-No...human life signs, not even a heart beat, no CO2 emission either...what the...are g-ghost speaking to me now? I can't revive the brothers in a place where there are ghost!" They can feel the panic on the female's voice, as if distressed. Kira snorted.

"She is pretty stupid." Saki could not help but agree, as he nodded his approval. By now, Maya has calmed down but is still clinging to Kira.

"WHAT?! Another voice?! Just how many are you?!" Kira sneered.

"What if I say WE are surrounding the glass tubes?" Saki tried to suppress his laughter.

"..."

"Please, Kira. Pinky, is it? What do we need to do to get them out of the tubes. We can't open it." Yuda's query was met with silence. Yuda continued, knowing the reason behind the silence.

"Yes, we are not human but we mean no harm to any of the brothers. Please, I want to save them. What do I need to do?" Still silence.

"Don't beg to that stupid female, Commander. We can find other ways to open the tubes." After a few seconds of silence, the girl spoke again.

"You promise not to hurt the humans?" Yuda nodded.

"Yes, I promise, under the Royal Seal of the Planet Empyrean, I, Prince Yuda, give you my word."

"You will protect them? From any harm?"

"Yes."

"You will keep them alive?"

Another nod.

"Of course."

"You...will not eat them?" Kira rolled his eyes. Maya is now becoming curious.

[This girl's stupidity is TOO much...I can't believe it actually exist!]

"I will not. We do not eat humans. Actually, we do not eat. Eating is something we only do occasionally." Then silence.

"Okay. I trust you and your words, please abide by them."

"I will."

"Okay! And yes, we have to get them out now, AS IN NOW. And whoever said that you can find other ways to open the glass tubes, well you are more stupid!" A vein popped out of Kira's head.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" It was Maya's turn to calm down Kira.

"Kira – niisan! Calm down!"

"Only I can open them! Reiga – niichan gave me that most important role and I will not allow ANYONE do it other than me! Harhar! Take that, stupid ghost!" Yuda's face twitches slightly at the mention of Reiga. Luca noticed this and placed a hand on Yuda's shoulder for comfort while another vein popped out of Kira's head.

[What the –?! How dare she!]

"YOU'RE the stupid one! I'm not a ghost!" Kira is more than ready to inflict bodily harm, if it weren't for Maya's effort to put him down. Saki had to help Maya quell Kira down. Satisfied she had said her piece, a series of beeps are heard.

"Alright, mister ghost! I will release the locks and just prepare to sustain them after leaving the glass tubes. Remember, oxygen is the most important thing! Also, prepare food when they woke up, not the solid type, they had no food for 48 years; their bodies need to awaken first and remember how it was to live again. Hygiene is next! Make sure they are clean! Also..." Luca raised his eyebrows.

[There's more?]

"Yes?"

"Don't tell Shin – niisan about me. He does not know, just me and my brothers knows..."

"Brothers? You mean..." Yuda felt guilty all of a sudden.

[Don't tell me...]

"Yeah, Keigo and Reiga – niichan...they are the ones who programmed the glass tubes with my consciousness in it. Before I died, I consented to their plan to make sure that when the time for the brothers to be awakened, someone highly intellectual than machines will help them." There was silence in the room. Kira snorted.

[Highly intellectual MY ASS! Stupid female!]

"You don't have to feel guilty, mister ghost!" Yuda was surprised.

[Huh? How did she –?]

"Hehe, I still don't feel any human life signs out of you guys but...your feelings certainly resemble that of ours...I'm sure that my brothers are finally at rest too. And so will I, after this...so, don't be sad. They have been waiting for someone who can help them out of their pain and misery." Yuda looked thoughtful for awhile then nodded. He still has no idea how Pinky was able to detect his feelings a little while ago but he was glad for the words of comfort he received from a blood relative of Reiga. It means a lot to him.

"Rest assured, Pinky, I will take care of all of them. You have my word." A giggle – like was heard.

"Hihi! Thanks! That really makes me happy! But boy! Prince from Empyrean...wow! Where is that planet? Does that mean you are...ALIENS?! Oh wow...boy, Shin – niisan is not gonna believe THAT! Alright, I'll start! Release lock!" They then all heard a sound on each glass tubes like releasing a pressurized air.

This is the moment they all have been waiting for. Seeing REAL humans for the first time. Anticipation is the highest on a certain red haired followed by a black haired doctor.

"Opening tube according to when they entered cryonics mode...Kageyama Gai...booting up machine..." Gai's glass tube made more noises, machine – like grunts slowly being accosted to life after 48 years. Then another machine – like voice came, different from Pinky's cute voice.

"Kageyama Gai is ready. Password please." Kira, who has calmed down a bit, raised an eyebrow.

"Password?"

"That's why I told you that you can't open it even if you force it, stupid ghost!" Kira's anger was renewed but was silenced by a strong slap from the back of his head courtesy of Shiva.

"Will you stop it?! You are disturbing the Commander!" Kira was still seething when the electronic voice came again.

"Password please."

"Byakko." Pinky answered. Beeping sounds were then heard.

"Password accepted. Opening glass tube." Takeru took note of the password.

[What a weird password...Let me see what that means...]

He was typing something on his metallic clipboard.

Gai's glass tube began to move from its position, from a 45 degree angle to horizontal, almost parallel to the floor. The front then opened upwards and finally stopped just above Gai's head. They finally get a glimpse of the first normal human they have seen.

"He has the same height as I am!" Maya was the first one to notice. Kira also looked out of curiosity.

"Yes, yes. He is the youngest out of all of them, 19 years old." Takeru commented.

Gai has a waist long, blonde hair with dark highlights at the tips of his hair and an equally blonde eyebrow. He sports a tan yet smooth skin. Takeru idly noted that he looked awfully young for his age. He is wearing a white colored hooded jacket were the sleeves reached his elbow and a tucked in plain red shirt. For the bottom portion, he wears a pair of camouflage shorts and a matching rubber shoes. Takeru scanned the body.

"Hmmm, he has traces of cat fur on him..." Maya looked at the doctor.

"Cat fur? Those domesticated cute mammals?" Takeru nodded. He was about to say something but the electronic voice interrupted him.

"All systems are all green. Body function all green as well. Estimated time of awakening: 4 days. Starting heart massage..." Then Gai's body jerked slightly upwards, startling the people that are near the glass tube.

"Woah!" One of them said. Takeru admonish them.

"Give the glass tube some room. You will have your time to look at him later. For now, give him space." The people obeyed except for Maya and a reluctant Kira.

His chest went upwards and breathes his first breath after 48 years.

"Yay! Gai is okay! Whew! What a relief!" Pinky said. For some reason, Maya gave a sigh of relief as well. Kira noticed this but did not say anything about it.

"Well, that was quick. Alright, send Gai in to his room. Remember; set the oxygen on just the right amount. Assist whenever possible. Be extremely careful in handling them! Go now!" He instructed his own medical people.

"Yes sir!" They then had a big bubble surround Gai and gently and swiftly sent him to his assigned room, with Maya following behind. Kira grabbed his arm.

"Where are you going?" Maya looked at him as if it was not obvious enough.

"I'm going to follow them. I want to see and find out what needs to be learned in taking care of humans." He then followed the people who are in charge of Gai. Kira was speechless. Shiva sneered at him.

"My, my, Maya's attention was stolen by a human kid." Kira has no answer to that because he is not sure if it may be true or not.

[...]

After deliberating if he will have a verbal abuse war with Shiva or not, he opted for the latter because he does not want to disrupt Yuda's concentration. Considering it as his win, Shiva smirked victoriously.

[Ha! Take that, HALF BLOOD!]

Yuda looked on as the first alive human was taken out of the room and now went back and gazed on the still closed glass tube of Shin.

[Are you next?]

"Next..." They all waited who will be revived next. Yuda tenderly touched Shin's glass tube. Shiva looked unhappy at this.

[What the- What does this mean?!]

"Kageyama Rei, booting up machine." This time, Rei's glass tube is slowly being revived back to life. Luca looked thoughtful.

[Hmmm, so he was next...If what I think is correct, they followed the order of birth...youngest to the eldest...oh wait, except for the last two...]

"Kageyama Rei is ready. Password please."

"Suzaku." Pinky answered. Takeru's raise an eyebrow.

[First, Byakko and now Suzaku? Hmmm, according to my research, those are mythical creatures that were believed to have existed in Earth...I will have to check on this if I want to know more about them and why use such as passwords...]

He then looked at Shin's closed glass tube.

[And to know more about you too. The human who brought out such emotions out of our usually emotionally guarded Commander]

"Password accepted. Opening glass tube." As with Gai, Rei's glass tube opened and anyone near that area had to gasp, including Kira. Luca looked surprised.

"I-Is he really...a MAN?" Kira asked all of a sudden. Out of curiosity, Shiva took a peek. He does not see anything worth note taking so he went back to staring at Yuda's perfect profile. Said man is very much occupied with his own thinking that he does not notice. Takeru got curious and decided to check what is on Rei's glass tube.

"Yes, he is a well certified man, male, chap, guy, gentleman, you stupid ghost!" Pinky answered. Kira did not answer back because he is still trying to figure out if the human before them is really a man or not and also, because he does not believe the stupid female's statement.

"Yes, Kira, they are all men. What made you ask that?" Takeru said and had to stop as well and looked amused.

"Well, I'll be. What a beautiful young man!" Rei has a waist length purple hair and is wearing a white, long sleeves turtle neck made of a soft material and a pair of blue skinny jeans and brown boots. He has pale, supple skin, thick and the longest eyelashes he has ever seen and his face is more beautiful than handsome. Awakening from his staring, he scanned the body.

"Hmmm..." Luca looked at him.

"Why, what's wrong?" Takeru just shrugged.

"Not much. He has a cut on his left forefinger, caused by a sharp object." He then looked at Luca.

"Did he-" Luca was cut off when the electronic voice came back again.

"All systems are all green. Body function all green as well. Estimated time of awakening: 5 days. Starting heart massage..." Rei's lithe body jerked once but no noises followed. Luca looked worried. But then there was a faint sound, getting louder and louder until the small screen beside Rei started reading life signs. His chest heaved also, indicating that the sleeping human has taken his first breath after so many years. Luca gave a sigh a relief.

"His okay...good. I'll supervise over him. Takeru," He turned towards the doctor. "You take care of him." He meant Shin/Yuda. Takeru nodded.

"Alright, bring some of my men with you." Luca nodded and got a handful with him and sent Rei to his assigned room followed by Kira. Takeru, Yuda, Shiva, Saki and some other men and medical people are the only ones left.

"Next..." By now, the people had diminished by half. The only glass tubes left were Goh and Shin's. Takeru looked at Yuda who is looking intently at Shin's glass tube.

[Can't wait to see him have his first breath huh?]

"Kageyama Goh...booting up machine..."the same noises were heard, this time, on Goh's glass tube.

"Kageyama Goh is ready. Password please."

"Seiryuu." Pinky said. Silence, only the beeping sounds continued.

"Password accepted. Opening glass tube." Same with the other two, the glass tube moved and opened when it was on the right position. Saki was closest so he had a good look on the sleeping human. The handsome man inside is wearing a long sleeves black leather jacket and a pair of blue jeans and mid calf black leather boots. He has short, dark brown hair and tan skin. Takeru immediately scanned the body.

"Oh? He has dichromatic eyes." Saki turned to him.

"A what?"

"Dichromatic eyes." Takeru repeated. "Means the color of his eyes differ from the other. And according to the scanner, one is red and the other is blue...Fascinating!" Saki then turned back to the sleeping Goh when the electronic voice came back.

"All systems are all green. Body function all green as well. Estimated time of awakening: 7 days. Starting heart massage..." Now, since they knew what to expect next, they were no longer surprised when Goh's body slightly jerked upwards and then beeps was heard. Followed by silence.

The electronic voice came again.

"... ... ...No response. Second heart massage, start." Goh's body jerked again but this time, a series of beeps followed and a line that goes upward then downward is shown on the small screen beside Goh.

"For a moment, I got worried. Anyway, take him to his assigned room. Remember, set the oxygen on just the right amount." 5 medical people gave a salute and carried Goh's glass tube away, placed it inside a bubble with Saki following them but stopped when he reached the door. He turned back and saluted to Yuda.

"Commander, with your permission, may I oversee the operation of handling Kageyama Goh?" Yuda looked at the young man and nodded.

"Permission granted. You take care of him, Saki." Saki stands in attention.

"Yes sir! By your leave." He then went out and followed the team who were assigned to Goh.

"Huh. How come Goh – niisan needed two heart massages when the annoying Gai only needed one? Why is that?" Pinky thought out loud. Takeru shrugged, wishing he knows the answer.

"Well, he is next." Yuda just nodded.

[Finally]

Shiva looked worried and was about to say something when Pinky's voice came in.

"Well, the last one, Shin – niisan. Remember your promise, Prince Yuda."

"Yes, of course, I will take care of him." Shiva also butted in.

"Commander Yuda always keeps his promise!" Then looks at the red haired for some approval but all he saw is the said red haired looking at Shin with this look he never saw before.

[Yuda? Why are you looking at him like that?]

"Okay...that's very reassuring. Shin – niisan is dense as hell so if you like him, you better tell it to him straight in the face or else, he will never get it." Shiva looked horrid.

"'Like him'?! What the hell are you-" his voice was drown when the electronic voice came back.

"Next..." The people were all alert and waited anxiously.

"Kageyama Shin...booting up machine." Shin's glass tube is starting to be revived. Yuda gave it just enough room and looked on, making sure he will have a full view of Shin's face when the glass tube opens up.

"Kageyama Shin is ready. Password please."

"Genbu." Takeru perked up upon hearing that.

[Genbu...the turtle...]

He then looked at Yuda and the red haired caught this and he just nodded.

[That explains the fascination on turtles...]

"Password accepted. Opening glass tube." The tube opens and finally, Yuda saw the man who created the music box; whose music calmed him and brought out these feelings inside him that he never thought are even present. When the glass tube has finally opened, all eyes are on the last human they rescued. Shin is wearing a white lab coat that reaches his mid calf. Inside, he is wearing a light blue polo shirt, brown belt and a dark blue pants then a pair of black men's shoes. He has pale skin and his elbow length long hair is colored cyan. They all stared long at him.

"My, another beautiful young man! This beauty must be in their genes!" Takeru said. He is honestly surprised and amazed.

"Hehe, Shin – niisan is really a beauty! My brothers can't help but fall in love with him." Shiva snorted.

"What? He just looks regular to me."

"Maybe for you. But since your prince is speechless, I'd say otherwise." Pinky countered. Shiva squawked.

"H-He's just relieved that this whole fiasco is over!" Pinky snorted.

"Yeah right." Shiva is about to say something when the electronic voice is back again.

[You like interrupting me, huh?!]

"All systems are all green. Body function all green as well. Estimated time of awakening: 14 days. Starting heart massage..." Yuda looked at Takeru.

"14 days?" Takeru nooded.

"I'll have that fixed." Then Shin's body jerked slightly upwards. No beeping noise followed.

"Hmmm, another one is needed." Yuda just looked.

"... ... ...No response. Starting second heart massage." Shin's body jerked again. Still, no response. Yuda looked alarmed.

"Oh no! What's going on?! Am I too late?!" Pinky said then beeps were heard. Yuda looked at Takeru.

"Takeru!" Said doctor is punching some commands on his hand held device.

"I'm on it!" Punching some more commands, he turned to the nearest medical personnel.

"You! Get that duplicator (*) and bring it here! The rest, find and get the ACF (*), quick!" The medical people quickly followed Takeru's orders.

"... ... ...Still no response. Checking for system malfunction..." Awhile ago, there was anticipation and excitement, but now, the room has a tense atmosphere with people scurrying here and there, except for Shiva and Yuda. Takeru looks unsure of what he is seeing on his mini monitor. Yuda then looked worriedly at Shin and approached the sleeping man.

"Shin..." He was about to caress Shin's cheek when Takeru stopped his hand, much to Shiva's relief.

"Don't Commander! Humans are very fragile creatures and all the more in his state because his body has been frozen for 48 years! Any careless touch might break them!"

[Yeah! You tell him, weird doctor! You owe me one so help me!]

Yuda looked at him ridiculously.

"Then what do you suggest we do then?! Wait for him to die if the third heart massage doesn't work?!" Takeru is again surprised at the emotion Yuda is showing, even Shiva is shocked.

[Yuda?]

Takeru steeled himself.

[This is not the time to marvel at the Commanders' emotions...we have to save this human or else, the Commander loses it]

"That's why I had my men look for the ACF, it will quicken the time for the living being to thaw from being frozen, thus, making the skin not as fragile as glass. I know what you are about to do but please, I beg of you, do not try it. We have no idea what effect it might have on them." Yuda looked unconvinced but he is listening. Takeru continued.

"Then, when his skin is back from what it was 48 years ago, I am going to inject him a heart stimulant. Humans called it 'epinephrine'. I am hoping this will help the machine awaken Shin." Yuda looked relieved but still maintained his hold on Shin's glass tube.

"Will that work?" Takeru bit his lip.

[Honestly, I am not sure...]

"It has to work. We have to make it work." Then two medical men came running towards him.

"We found it, sir!" Takeru got the duplicator, a small metallic cube with holes placed irregularly all over it.

"Alright, activate the ACF. Tell me when it's done." They then activated the device, a small pyramid like metal colored in bronze. It started glowing and enveloped Shin's body with green light. Then Takeru triggered the duplicator. It glowed in golden color.

"Epinephrine, 48 years ago." It made a buzzing sound then on Takeru's other hand, a light from the cube came and a syringe with a medication inside appeared. He then gave the duplicator to one of the medical personnel and moved beside Shin.

"Find me a vein that leads to his heart, quick!" A floating monitor hovered over Shin's left wrist.

"Alright! Good work-"He was interrupted by the electronic voice again. All this time, the machine has been analyzing the situation and is trying to think of a way to awaken the sleeping man. Unfortunately for Takeru, it has finally decided on the best course of action.

"All systems are working. Initiating a stronger dose of heart massage...preparing..." then Pinky's panicky voice came after.

"Quick! I don't think Shin – niisan can take a stronger dose of cardiac massage! That is only meant for the dead, not the sleeping and alive human being! Prince Yuda!" Yuda looked helplessly at Takeru.

"Takeru! Please!" He felt more than heard the begging on the red haired's voice. He made his resolve harder.

"This is it! Pinky, override that computer and make her stop. Once I have injected the epinephrine, we will do the heart massage after, on our own. Stop her from doing that third one!" A series of beeps was then heard.

"I'll try my best! Please, save Shin – niisan!" Then all was heard are more series of beeps. Takeru then turned to Yuda.

"Commander, I need your help. We have to recreate the heart massage that she did to him on the first two tries. Mild but gentle, enough to stimulate the heart. The computer will no longer do that, so please use your power. That is controllable, only you can do it." Yuda gave him one look then at Shin. When he looked back at Takeru, he nodded and placed his two hands, on top of each other, over Shin's chest. He is relieved to know that all that learning about humans is finally paying off. Giving CPR is one of them.

[Don't worry, Shin, I will save you!]

"I'm ready, Takeru. Quick!" Takeru then heaved a heavy sigh and looked at the vein that his monitor is displaying.

[Here goes nothing!]

"Remember, mild but gentle. Well, here I go!" He then placed the needle of the syringe and inserted it as gentle as he can against Shin's skin. Looking at the monitor, he made sure that he hit the right spot, the vein, and then injected the solution as slowly as he can. The monitor then confirms that the solution went in.

"Get the time cracker and place it over here, now!" One medical personnel scrambled on his kit and placed the device on where the solution was supposed to be. It made the solution move and quickly reached the heart. Takeru then motioned to Yuda.

"Commander, now!" Yuda nodded and focused his energy; he controlled it to a very minimal output then released it. Shin's body jerked, slightly upward then collapse back. All people inside the room stilled, waiting for that beep that confirms the revived status of the human inside. Then, Yuda looked surprised.

"Oh?" Takeru looked at him.

"What? What happened?" Yuda looked hard at Shin then placed his ear near Shin's chest and went silent. Takeru looked at him worriedly.

[D-Did we lose Shin? Oh no...]

Yuda's eyes then grew slightly bigger.

"He's...awake..." Takeru looked surprised.

"Huh? But there is no beep-"then he heard it. It was faint but the beeping sound is there. He then looked at the small screen and confirmed that the line is moving, indicating that the human is indeed been revived. The medical people looked relieved and happy, except for Shiva, who is looking at Yuda's face as it lit up from knowing that he was able to save Shin. Then Shin's chest heaved shakily first but the second intake of breathe came more natural. Takeru felt relived too.

"We saved him, Commander!" Yuda nodded and wordlessly caressed tenderly Shin's cheek which is not that cold anymore. Shiva is getting more and more uncomfortable with the situation.

"Commander, he might be harbouring this nasty bacteria and viruses and whatnot...Don't touch him so carelessly, please!"

"It's okay. Takeru said that Shin made the cryonics nearly perfect that even at cellular level; he was able to stop their time, completely. We will get rid of anything that will harm them. We better take him to his room. Oh." He turned towards the glass tube.

"Pinky, thank you for all your help. I will keep my word so you may rest now."

There was silence at first.

"Phew! Wow, beating that automated woman is a lot harder than I thought! Whew!" She then remembered Yuda was talking to her.

"Hehe, it's my final job so nothing to it. Thanks so much, Prince. I can f-finally...rest and know that the siblings are in good hands. Really, thanks...so...m...much..." the machine then went silent. They have guessed that overriding the automated may have quickly exhausted whatever energy was left for Pinky to function. Yuda hoped that she will finally be at peace, along with her brothers.

[I will pray for your eternal peace, Pinky...Take your well deserve rest now...]

"I felt that I was not talking to a machine, but to one of our own." Takeru commented. Yuda nodded.

"Yes, I understand what you mean. Now, let's get Shin out of this tube." He placed the bubble with enough oxygen for Shin. Takeru then went towards the door, with his medical people following him then Yuda gliding the tube towards the door when Shiva stopped Yuda. The red haired looked down at Shiva with a surprise look.

"What is it, Shiva?" Shiva did not release his hold on the handsome Commander.

"Commander, let Takeru take care of the human. He can do it alone." Yuda just looked at him.

"I want to help. Besides," he then looked at the sleeping and breathing peacefully Shin. "I want to take care of him personally." He then made another attempt towards the door but Shiva still held him down.

"Shiva?" Shiva looked at him with his pleading eyes.

"What about the aircraft? What are your orders? What are we going to do?" Yuda look back to him.

"This is my order: The ship stays in space for now, until further notice. All crews are to be on standby. That's all. Now, if you will excuse me." With his other hand, he gently released Shiva's hold on him and went out of the door.

Looking dejected, Shiva looked at the now gone Yuda. He knew that someone, a primitive human, took Yuda's attention.

[It was taken without me noticing it]

He was getting his own suspicions as to the reason why they are staying on this planet longer than they should be. And they even went on a mission that has no permission from the Mainland. And now, they are taking in humans who might be harbouring deadly disease and Yuda was brushing it off as if nothing. The Commander is more interested in getting these humans back to life than them, his own people's welfare.

They were no longer Yuda's priority. And he has the most dreaded feeling that he has no chance of ever getting back Yuda's attention.

"Taken...by a helpless, fragile human. A low life creature took my Yuda away from me...that human should not have existed...should not have survived...if only he did not exist...if only he did not survive...Yuda, my Yuda...is still mine...yes, that's right..." Shiva has this crazy look on his face.

"That's right...I could get rid of him easily...weaklings like him...yeah, easy to get rid of..." He then went out of the door and is heading towards his own room.

[I need a plan...so that Yuda will not know who did it...yeah...I got one already, now, to finalize it...]

* * *

TBC

* * *

Definitions:

TM – stands for trade mark. Patented. Cannot be copied or else, you will be sued.

Duplicator – I just borrowed the word. It is from an RPG I played years ago were it duplicates things for you. Very handy if you have a rare but very useful item.

ACF – anti cryo factor. I just invented it, not an actual word.

Please give your reviews! Thanks much for reading! ^^


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** I do not own Saint Beast. Credits go to the original creator.

**Characters:** Yuda, Shin (still sleeping), Takeru, Luca, Rei (another sleepy head), Kira and Gai (erhm, we'll see... ^^;)

**Additional notes:** Thanks so much for the reviews! I read them all and yes, I'm sorry if I wrote the story in a confusing way... ^^;

I'll make up for it...please bear with me... ^^

Anyways! Here is the next chapter! Enjoy reading! ^^

* * *

By the time Yuda has entered the room where Shin will be staying for awhile, the men from the medic team are no longer inside, just Takeru. Said doctor is tinkering on the machine where the oxygen level is being controlled. Yuda made sure Shin is okay and looked around. He saw some objects he has never seen before.

"Are this Shin's possession?" Takeru looked at Yuda then at the object he is looking at.

"Yes. With the help of Luca's device, I was able to pick the most important possessions of the brothers." Yuda then approached one by one the objects displayed and stopped on a clothing that was hanging on the wall. It was colored black with white linings on the edge and a white lining running down on the right side. The high collared neck area is covered with gold linings and also running down on the right side of the body. He pressed a button on his wrist and checked the information about the clothing. According to the display, it was what humans called a qipao, an Eastern style clothing mostly worn by martial artist because of its flexibility and softness that does not hinder the wearer's movements. Takeru continued.

"Same with the other brothers, they have their prized possessions in their rooms as well. Some had to be recreated since they have past their usefulness. The humans are rather fond of these 'expiration dates' on their everyday items."

"He does not have that much, huh?" Takeru smiled.

"Yeah. He is quite the simple guy. The other one, Rei, has the most number of things." He then looked thoughtful as he tries to remember. Yuda then went back towards Shin, softly smiling.

"Really? What kind of things did he held precious?"

"Cooking utensils. He is the cook of their family. So! Pinky said we need to make sure that they are kept clean. First, we need to remove him out of that tube. He is getting wet already." Yuda nodded then, using telekinesis, he carefully lifted Shin out of the tube. The edge of his lab coat is already soaked. Slowly, Shin's body is being lifted out of the tube, his hair also soaked with water. Yuda looked at him closely and held Shin in bridal carry style. As the body touched his waiting arms, he studied the sleeping human closely.

[He feels cold. Well, figures. I could hear his blood rushing inside his body. His heart, beats rather slow though...]

Takeru is then busy getting rid of the glass tube, making sure that it stays intact since he plans on analyzing the crude but highly effective human device. Yuda held Shin closely towards his body.

[I'm sure of it...it beats slower than his brothers...are you feeling unwell, Shin?]

"Okay! Phew! There, this fossil device is safe. I am SO going to have a field day here! Let's see, the system that was suppose to drain the water after the ice has thawed seem to have stopped functioning, therefore explaining why they are soaking wet right now. A small flaw, not that life threatening. Other than that, everything is in perfect condition. I can't wait! I will have this analyze later on, now onto Shin's...er..." He stopped when he saw the scene before him.

Holding him gently in bridal style carry, Yuda is kissing the sleeping Shin. Around their joined lips, were miniscule pink lights floating around. He watched as Yuda heals the illness within Shin.

[Wow...He just up and about used his power to a being that is different from ours...wow]

When he released Shin's lips, Yuda then opened his eyes. He listened harder this time.

[There, much better. You are safe now, Shin]

Happy with the result, he then looked at a shell shock Takeru. He looked back at him.

"Yes?" Finally, Takeru regained his composure.

"Oh! Er, yes, well...er, never thought you will kiss him out of the blue...er..." Well, maybe he did not regain his composure. Yuda just looked at him.

"Oh, that. Well, his heart is beating much slower than his other brothers. It was struggling to pump blood and I know, there must be something wrong. So I healed him. His heart is working much better now." Takeru is speechless.

[Oh...it was for THAT reason...I thought...oh, never mind!]

But then a thought occurred to him.

"If that was the case, you could have just kissed near the chest area..." Yuda's ability to heal is more effective when directed on the area concerned. Yuda blinked once.

"Oh, that. Well, I noticed that he had problems in other parts of his body. So it will be easier to heal them all through his lips." He then looked at the sleeping face of Shin.

"Oh...I..uhm, I see..."

[The Commander sure has a different way of showing affection...or maybe, he is just not sure on what to do...]

Takeru decided not to dwell on this new found fact now and concentrate on Shin.

"Well, shall we begin? Would you like to wash his hair first or give him a bath?" Yuda looked at him.

"Just me?" Takeru nodded.

"Yes. I got other things to do which concern the brothers so, the stage is all yours." Then he bowed and left the room. Yuda was then left all alone inside the room. He looked at Shin again.

"Well, first we need to get him out of this soaking clothing. Then we will start with the hair. Mimi." A small circular metallic ball, about the size of a golf ball, came towards Yuda. Its colored red.

"Grab Shin's shampoo. And start the water running, we'll do the hair first." The mimi's eyes blinked twice then went towards the things that Takeru brought as Shin's belongings and correctly got the shampoo and head towards the newly made bathroom. The gravity was then set to zero inside the bathroom. Yuda then heard the sound of running water and held firmly Shin's body and went there. Inside, it was a spacious bathroom with a bath tub and a shower area sealed within a transparent glass tube. He set Shin gently down on the floating chair with a headrest; it supported his neck and he then let the long hair flow down. The red Mimi then properly aligned the shower head and gently rinsed the sleeping man's hair, starting from the scalp. Another red Mimi came and covered the face with a transparent pink bubble and rinsed the fringe area. Yuda was then massaging the hair, noting its softness.

[It's so soft...and silky...a well taken care of hair]

When the hair was wet enough, another Mimi came and assisted Yuda with using the shampoo. Yuda took a sniff of the bubbly bottle.

[Smells nice...]

And he then applied evenly and started washing the hair. They worked on quietly and he was soon finished. Shin's hair now shines and smells good. A Mimi was drying the hair while another Mimi combs it. Yuda looked on in wonder.

[Protein as hair...not bad. They are pretty strong, regenerates. Not bad]

Then, with telekenesis, Shin float in mid air. His lab coat was removed with ease followed by the other garments. The Mimis caught each one and went to a laundry bin and deposited the soaked clothes.

On his birthday suit, Yuda released a metallic ball and gently hurled it towards Shin. Said device emitted a soft gold light and enveloped the sleeping human. Nano machines slowly attached to his skin and cleaned every nook and cranny, removing dead skin cells and rejuvenating the skin back to life. After a few minutes, all nano machines disengaged on the human and went back towards the metallic ball. Then, a dry lab gown made of material deemed safe for the humans to wear was don on Shin.

When everything has been taken care of, they moved back to the room with the bed and Yuda gently scooped Shin, bridal style again, and set him with utmost care on the bed. When he was settled, the Mimis worked on removing any wrinkles on the fabric, to avoid any discomfort to the sleeping human. Yuda placed the blanket over Shin to prevent any heat escaping. He set the blanket so that it will continuously emit ultrasound waves that will help stimulate muscle movement and soften the still stiff body. He then set the floating transparent monitor above Shin's head and punched in some commands. It started the program that Yuda set it into and showed a very dark screen. Yuda, seeing that Shin is now comfortable, set back and looked on the screen. Takeru then entered and saw the Mimis were in hibernate mode, right beside Shin; ready if ever their master calls for them. Takeru approached Yuda who was viewing the screen. He saw nothing but black.

"I guess, that still means, he is still trying to recover from that long sleep." Yuda only nodded.

"It's understandable. They have been asleep for so long and now, they were suddenly brought back." His statement quite contradicts what Yuda was showing on his face but Takeru decided to remain silent. He was not in the position to say such things.

[But your impatience shows, you know...]

Hoping to change the gloomy subject, Takeru punched in some commands on his metallic clipboard and pointed something to Yuda. The red haired spared it a glance and nodded.

"It will not be long now..." The doctor commented. And defeated, because he could not tear Yuda's attention from the screen, joined him instead.

"Yeah..." Then they both felt silent. The machines hooked up to the sleeping human are the only sounds that could be heard. Dutifully scanning Shin's body for anything that could harm it. Right now, it states that the human is still in a state of hibernation. Black screen, Yuda asked the doctor a question.

"You think they will be able to see it?" Takeru cocked his head on the side.

[A good question...]

"I'm not sure. If they do not wake up anytime soon, then no. It is approaching fast." Yuda caressed Shin's hand.

[It's getting warmer...that's a good sign]

"I am not sure if I want them to see it." Yuda looked at Takeru then looked outside. Takeru knows what their Commander means. He is known to be very mindful of his subordinates feeling, and based from what he said just now, that also extends to these humans as well. He then looked at the slumbering human.

"Their planet's dying."

Luca was also done with Rei when Yuda came to check on him. And he had to stop. Before him, he saw Luca looking at the sleeping human with utmost concentration. His face is so close, if he has a breath, he would be blowing soft air on the sleeping form. After a few minutes, he looked up and was surprise to see Yuda standing there. Mild surprise on his face.

"Oh. My bad, I didn't see you there." Yuda's brow went up.

[Oh? I guess I am not the only one fixated on the humans...]

The red haired smiled instead, watching as Luca, if it is possible to blush, he would be doing that, stand up and composed himself. There are also some Mimis sleeping beside the human. When he thought he knew he was no longer looking embarrassed / blushing, approached a delighted looking Yuda. He stopped at this.

"What?" Yuda just shrugged.

"Nothing." Then he smiled, that smiled that Luca has no idea what it means. The red haired then went to the other side of the room, near the window, leaving a slightly buffled Luca. Knowing that if he asked further, he will be caught on a trap, the silver-white haired man decided to end it there. Then he approached the bed where Rei is sleeping.

"How was the human under your care?" Yuda just nodded. Looking on the vast space, with stars everywhere.

"He is doing well. Although his body is still in the hibernation mode, he is showing good signs of recovery. How about him, Rei was it?" Luca nodded. He punched in some commands on a familiar looking monitor above Rei's head and he saw a static screen. One that could be seen when the TV is not working.

"Well, as you can see. He is also in a state of hibernation." Yuda approached the monitor.

"Well, yours is much better. Shin's mind shows black." Luca looked at Yuda, surprised.

"Just black?" The red haired nodded. Luca cocked his head sideways.

"What could that mean?" Yuda softly shake his head and looked down on the sleeping human named Rei. Before he arrived in this room, he was doing a researched on human minds but found none that could answer his question.

[I guess such research was too much for them or none of them ever found it out...]

Then the red haired heard a gasp. He looked up and saw Luca's astonished face. He followed where he was looking at and saw it. His eyes became wide.

An image came up on the screen. Blurry, but there was definitely an image.

It looked like some sort of black circular thing with an even smaller, white circular inside. Another small, yellow circle is inside this white circle. And it looks like it was being tossed high in the air and was catch by the black circle. Then it was repeated over and over. Yuda immediately knew what was the image.

"He's cooking." Luca, stunned, could only nod.

[Here it is. The first ever image from the humans]

"That, I believe is what they call a 'sunny side up egg'." Then the screen was blurry again. The view changed, it turned to the left side and saw a small rectangular device with blinking screen. A slender hand reached for it. Luca immediately looked at Rei's hand. It matched the one on the screen.

"This must be him before..." Yuda nodded, absorbing everything that he was seeing.

"Yes. Look, he appears to be talking. That device must be what they call a 'cell phone'." They could not hear what was being said. Luca, unknown to him, was hoping to hear what Rei's voice was. Then the view changed again and the camera (by this time, they figured that the camera is what was Rei looking at that moment) looked in front, the camera moved outside of what look like the kitchen (there were cupboards near the door all painted white) then to a small passage hall with pictures hung on the other side of the beige colored wall. When he reached the end of that small passage hall, he looked on his left side that appears to be the living room and a group of men came inside the house. The movement stopped and the men in black approached Rei and took him by the arm, cellphone still in hand. The camera then shifted left and right as Rei is probably asking what was this about since they are hearing something like a muffled sound. The men in black, as if they heard nothing, quickly stepped outside of the house, dragging Rei along as if he weighs nothing. Luca looked alarmed.

"What are they doing?!" Yuda looked alarmed as well.

"I'm...not sure." Then the camera moved towards the door were a lot of men clad in black attire guard the area. Then it was pitched black and a lot of loud sound can be heard. Luca knew the sound.

"Gunshots!" He unconsciously clutched the bed and looked worriedly at Rei who was sleeping. He was sure that the human has no wounds, except for the small cut on the finger which was immediately healed by Takeru. He then went back to watching the screen with Yuda, anxious as to what happened next.

By this time, it was no longer a black screen but what looked like an armoured vehicle. The camera was moving around, indicating that Rei was having a hard time positioning himself properly inside the small vehicle. Then, the camera shifted to the right and they saw it.

"It's...them." Yuda could only nod.

A creature approached the door where Rei came in and tried to grab his leg when a man in black shoved it backwards. The camera was still, indicating that Rei was fixed to what he was seeing, unable to move.

As if on cue, the sleeping body shifted, the beautiful face showing signs of discomfort. The machines were also beeping wildly. Luca immediately looked at the machine readings.

"Stress level is going high...too high." He punched in some commands on the medical machine. Yuda was looking at what his friend was doing and keeps watch on the screen, still on that same image. When suddenly, said creature turned to the man in black and went for the neck. Blood splattered everywhere. Fixed image again. This time, the beeping sound can no longer be ignored. It was going crazy. Yuda, knowing that this is going beyond what they know, punched a button on the bedside.

"Takeru! Rei's room, NOW!" Luca stopped working on the machines since he could no longer handle it and instead, looked at the disturbed looking but still sleeping human. By now, it is breathing hard, fingers twitching, clawing the blanket and then letting it go and then clawed at it again. Luca grabbed the hand gently.

[Poor thing, reliving this horrible nightmare all over again...I'm sorry, Rei...I'm sorry]

Takeru came barging in and went straight to Rei's machines. Followed by his assistant, Pandora. He punched in some commands and the machine immediately responded. Some fluid was injected to Rei's IV and the heavy breathing gradually subsided. Takeru sighed softly.

"That should do it. I will watch the video later. I am getting a response on one of them." This caught Yuda's attention.

"Who?" Takeru looked at their Commander and shook his head.

"It's Gai. I will leave Pandora here just in case he goes in another shock." He then gave a pat on his assistant and left the room in the same way he entered the room. Pandora, bowed to the two of them. He is a good looking but frail young man with sandy brown hair, the length reaching the chin area. The fringe length reaches the eyebrows and he has orange-brown eyes. He is known to be quiet and mostly keeps to himself. He has a pet named Pearl: a white, furry creature with a circular pale blue crystal on its forehead and ruby colored eyes. It always sits on Pandora's right shoulder.

"Thank you." Luca said. Pandora bowed again and started working on the machine, stabilizing Rei. The two went back to the monitor. It went black. They were silent for a moment.

"It was that short, huh?" Luca said. He then punched in some commands on the monitor and it started playing what it recorded earlier. They set it on the part where they left off. Luca looked at Rei just to be sure. The human was sleeping like a baby. He was still holding his hand.

The creature continued his assault on the man in black's neck when another man in black kicked it out of the door and slammed it shut. As if woken suddenly, the camera immediately went towards the armoured window and saw the creature gnawing at the 2nd man's leg. The said man kicked it hard and crushed its head into a sluggish pulp. Then he pulled a smaller gun, shot the creature in the head, shot his dead comrade in the head and himself. A muffled sound can be heard but it was too soft. The camera also is getting blurry. Yuda looked disturbed.

"He's...crying." Luca's hold on Rei's hand tighten slightly.

Another creature banged on the door but got hit on the head by a gun. A man in black appeared and banged on the window were Rei was looking at and then there was movement. The vehicle was moving. The camera was so blurry; they can no longer see anything clear. And the muffled sound turned into sobbing. Then it was all black.

They were both silent. Yuda was looking on the black screen, remembering Shin who was sleeping in the next room. He was wondering if he too, had to see such nightmarish event. Meanwhile, Luca was softly caressing Rei's cheek.

[He was there...He experience this horror...All by himself, no one to protect him, to console him...Poor Rei...]

Yuda was about to say something when the door suddenly opened and a very distraught but excited looking Kira came in. Luca looked up and raised one elegant eyebrow in question. Kira, who remembered his manners, quickly made a salute and stood in attention. Yuda, knowing that Maya and Kira were in charge of Gai, looked alert all of a sudden.

"What is it, Kira?" Kira stood even straighter, if that was even possible but he did it.

"Commander Yuda! Commander Luca! Please come with me!" Luca, not moving, asked.

"Why? What happened to the boy under your care? Isn't Takeru the-" He was cut off by a slightly excited Kira.

"Commander! Forgive me for interrupting you, but this boy – Gai. He is awake!" The two Commanders had twin expression. Yuda immediately followed a hurried Kira while Luca, who made sure Rei is comfortably tucked in his bed, followed the two.

* * *

TBC

Please review! Thanks so much for those who continuously give their reviews! Much appreciated! ^^


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** I do not own Saint Beast. Credits go to the original creator.

**Characters:** Yuda, Shin (still sleeping), Takeru, Luca, Rei (another sleepy head), Kira and Gai (erhm, we'll see... ^^;)

**Additional Notes:** uhm, for Gai and Goh's pairing...hmmm, gee, I don't know...I will think about it...

* * *

"Takeru."

An equally excited Takeru faced the red haired. The people from the lab have gathered and were curious as to see what a real human looked like. Takeru was beaming. He ushered the two Commanders towards a transparent window, looking over Gai's room. Inside, a small boy who looked all too familiar is in there.

"Is that Maya?" Takeru nodded. He showed something to Yuda. The red haired and Luca looked at it.

"Yes. When he woke up, he was suddenly alert and was struggling, albeit weakly, but still struggling. He was not sure what was going on and my assistants just made him all the more jumpy. I guess, because of the suit. We will have to change that later. Anyway. So I made them leave but I was worried at the same time as to what he is capable of doing. He might hurt himself or worse. He is quite a wild one. Then, a miracle happened." He said this all in one breath and Yuda and Luca took a few seconds to digest all that information. Takeru then pointed at Maya, who looked like he is conversing with a slightly stunned Gai.

"Maya was looking on, curious as ever, and this boy saw him and stopped struggling. So, I deduced that since he believes that Kira's little brother is the same age as he is, he calmed down. Or, probably that he saw someone whom he can somehow relate ex. age and gender, he somewhat calmed down." He saw Kira pointing towards Maya. He followed it and saw Maya looking at them and at the same time, assisting Gai to sit properly. He said something but they could not hear it. Yuda read his lip movement.

"He wants us to go there and speak to Gai." Kira, who by now his excitement is gone upon learning that the human blonde took Maya in there, huffed out loud.

"Hmph! Where are his manners? And why is he requesting to speak to the Commander?" Yuda placed a hand on his shoulder, and gave a small chuckle.

"It is alright. It is our responsibility to orient them as well to what happened." Luca nodded in agreement. Kira looked confused.

"Why is that? We can explain it to them. No need to bother you, Commander." Yuda just smiled and left the baffled Kira. Luca pat the blonde's shoulder and said.

"We know. But it has to be us. You will understand soon." And he followed the red haired. Kira blinked once. Then twice. And looked all the more frustrated.

"Huh? I do not like it when I am given a riddle..." Releasing a frustrated sigh, he looked again at the window and from there; he will watch what happens next.

* * *

The first thing he saw was white light that immediately blinded him so he closed his eyes again.

[What the-? Where am I?]

Like a curious cat, he tried again opening his eyes. Bad decision. Because the light above just became brighter. He closed his eyes once again, getting angry.

[What's with those lights?! It hurts the eyes, damnit! Can someone close them?!]

As if on cue, the light suddenly lost its brilliance and then it became slightly dark. He immediately opened his eyes.

[Woah! It got dark!]

He scratched his eyes to see if he was dreaming. It was still dark.

[WOAH! It really IS turned off! Sweet!]

He was doing some sort of victory dance when he noticed something else. He stopped his dancing and froze. He saw something out of the corner of his eyes. A weird looking helmet. Although afraid, he gulped and slowly, very slowly, looked in the direction of the weird looking helmet.

[WHAT. THE. HELL?!]

He screamed.

He does not care if Rei will do bodily harm to him for screaming like a girl but he will scream to his heart's content. Yep, definitely scream to his heart's content. After a few seconds, he noticed another thing.

[WHEN WILL I STOP NOTICING THINGS?! THIS IS NOT GOOD FOR MY HEART YOU KNOW!]

There was no sound. One hand clasps his neck, to see if it was intact. It was so he check his mouth if it was poised to scream. It was also.

[So, why was there no sound? Did I lose my voice or something?]

His face has the look of horror, the king of all horrors. He never gets sick, NEVER. In 19 years of his existence, HE. . SICK. EVER. His dictionary does not even know what that word is. He is what you will always call "fit as a fiddle" type of guy. Sick is for the weak, and he is definitely not one. If he lost his voice, does that mean he is...weak? He gasp. No. That cannot be. While this train of thought consumes him, a brain cell not interested on that thought kicked him internally and finally put him into order.

[[You do not have a voice. Period. Now, deal with it like a man]]

He looked sad at the thought that a brain cell does not care for his well being. But, as it advised, he gulped and took it like a man.

[I...do not have a... *he gulped again* voice...]

Then the weird helmet came back into view. He screamed, again. The weird helmet, as if frightened, backed away from him. He stopped screaming (or look like screaming) and thought of something.

[OH! It's afraid of me! Hah!]

He was grinning from ear to ear when another weird helmet to his left approached him. He looked about to scream when it grabbed hold of his left arm. Albeit too strongly.

[OUCH! What the-?! Let go!]

He struggled against the one grabbing him when the right weird helmet approached him as well and grabbed his other struggling but losing right hand.

[HEY! This is called bullying you know! Let go! Goh! Help!]

He now used his left foot to ward off the left weird helmet and his right foot to ward off the other. His face, now of that battling a strong monster.

[Talk about multi tasking. I SAID LET GO! DAMNIT!]

He stopped struggling (his feet stopped anyways, not his arms) when he noticed, for the nth time, another thing. His face looked dead panned.

[Why am I not surprise...?]

It was a boy. He completely stopped struggling. Actually, it looked like someone from his age. It was looking at him, full of curiosity.

[Well, I'll be...]

He was busy looking at the red haired, or what appeared to be red haired for him when said boy spoke something to the two weird helmets. A language he never heard before.

{What? What did he say?]

He looked confused, trying to figure out what was the language the other boy spoke when the two weird helmets released him, backed away and left the room. He now felt stupid because both of his legs were in mid air and his hands were stretched out like he was about to fly. He brought them all down and tried hard looking composed. He just noticed that he was on a white bed with matching white blanket. He looked on either side of him and found lots of machines, some beeping while some not, and shows weird symbols. He also noticed that he was wearing his usual clothes. He looked lost but figured where he was.

[Hospital? Wait. Since when did doctors and nurses started wearing weird helmets?! It will scare away any non combatant patient, you know! Good thing I know how to protect myself but...What kind of hospital is this?! And what kind of hospital that does not change their patient's clothing?! I wanna wear those thin hospital gowns too, you know!]

[%^&%^&^$%#!#$#$%^&^&^%&%^$%$ #!#!# ]

He stopped.

[What?]

[%^&%^&^$%#!#$#$%^&^&^%&%^$%$ #!#!# ]

He is beyond confused.

[Wait, WHAT? Is someone in my head now? AM I LOSING MY MIND BECAUSE OF THIS WEIRD HOSPITAL WITH WEIRD DOCTORS AND NURSES WHO WEAR AN EQUALLY WEIRD LOOKING HELMET AND AS IF NOT HAPPY, I LOST MY VOICE AS WELL?!]

He clutched his head. He then noticed that the red haired boy looked worried.

[At least someone is worried for me...]

Then the boy spoke.

"#%$%^&%^*^&% $! #! $ #$#$%^%&^%&%^&%$^?" Gai blinked once.

[What?]

The red haired cocked his head sideways and spoke again. That same weird language.

"#%$%^&%^*^&% $! #! $ #$#$%^%&^%&%^&%$^?"

Gai's eyes become big. He grasped hard on his hair and looked at the metallic and cold looking ceiling.

[GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! WHAT IS WITH THIS HOSPITAL?! EVEN NORMAL BOYS SPEAK IN A WEIRD LANGUAGE! I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE, FAST!]

He looked around and noticed he was attached to some of the machines beside him. He does not want machines following him during his escape so he hastily removed them one by one when a warm hand clasped his panicked form. He immediately felt relaxed.

[Woah...now, what's happening...?]

He looked at the boy and he suddenly felt afraid. He felt like a submissive little kid before this boy.

[There...there is something wrong here...]

"#%$%^&%^*^&% $! #! $ #$#$%^%&^%&%^&%$^?"

[I told you...I do not understand you...]

The boy looked surprised. Gai watched as the boy took something from his belt and placed something on his own ear. A stud but with no stone.

"I'm sorry about that. Can you understand me now?" Gai looked energized, already forgetting the fact that awhile ago, he was afraid of this boy.

[Yes! Thank goodness! What was that language anyway you are speaking? I have never heard of that before...I could use that to Rei, you know...] and the blonde made snickering sound.

The other boy just blinked once. Then twice, then laughed out loud. Gai was laughing as well, as he enumerates the ways he can use the language to an oblivious Rei. Then, he stopped short.

[Wait]

The red haired boy was still laughing softly.

"Yes?" Gai stared at him.

[How can you...know what I am thinking when I could not even speak...?]

"Oh that? That's easy. I read your mind, just like the others. Since, you cannot use yet your vocal chords; we read your mind to communicate." Gai froze.

[Say...WHAT?]

"You have been asleep for 48 years so the best our machines could do is to restore back your muscle activity in your entire body. We are still working on your voice though."

[Wait, what do you mean...? What sleep? I am asleep for...YEARS?!]

Some machines that Gai was not able to remove were now beeping, making the red haired boy look at them. A look of worry crossed his face. He looked at Gai who was now clutching his head, as if in pain.

"Are you okay? Your stress level is going too high..." Gai could no longer hear the other boy. He was remembering something. Something really important.

[No...no way...I-I remember now...]

The machines beeping were now showing warning on it, the boy held Gai's hands, assisting him to sit comfortably.

"Hey, a-are you okay...? C-calm down." He was looking around and remembered something. He looked up. He got a response above and a form left. After awhile, another one followed. He went back to Gai. He is silent but he looked like he figured it out.

[I...I remember now...Shin and the other guys...]

Gai's eyes were wide opened as he realized something. He clutched Maya as if his life depends on it.

[My brothers?! Where are they?! Are they okay?]

Maya nodded.

"Yes, they are alright. They are sleeping in other rooms, just like you." Gai relaxed after hearing that.

[I see. How about Tamami?]

The red haired boy looked confused.

"Who's...Tamami?" Gai was about to go animated again when the door opened and two men went in. The red haired boy faced them and made a salute. Seeing this, Gai fumbled and made a sloppy salute as well. And then he had no idea why he even did that so he looked lost for a moment. Another red haired man smiled at this. Gai noted absently that he is wearing the same stud earring like the boy beside him.

"At ease." Maya nodded and stand in attention. Following suit, Gai sat upright.

The two men before him bowed. Gai bowed back as a respect. The tall, red haired man gestured to himself.

"My name is Yuda and this man here is Luca." Luca gave a nod. Yuda gestured to the boy beside Gai.

"His name is Maya." Maya gave a smile. Gai smiled back.

"We are the Commanders of this aircraft, the Olympus. Maya is one of our navigators." Gai looked surprised.

"Oh! Greek mythology!" He stopped. He clutched his neck.

"MY VOICE IS BACK!" Maya looked happy.

"Wow! That's nice! Congratulations!" Gai held his hand, clearly excited about the turn of events.

"Gee, thanks!" The two boys were grinning when a soft chuckle cut them off. They both turned their heads to two chuckling men. Remembering who they were, Gai gave a sheepish grin while scratching his head.

"Oh! Er, sorry. I tend to lose my focus rather fast. One of my faults, Goh told me. Hey, Commander-sir..." Yuda stopped him there by raising a hand.

"Yuda is fine." Gai nodded.

"Okay, so Yuda, my brothers, where are they? I wanna see them. Can I?" Yuda and Luca looked at each other, which made Gai worried.

"I can't?" Luca shook his head.

"It's not like that. It's just that, as Maya informed you, they are still sleeping. Plus, we have yet to restore your mobility function." Gai looked at his legs. Then he wiggled his toes. And looked back at the silver-white haired man.

"My legs feel fine..." Yuda nodded.

"Yes, that is true. But..." Yuda stopped when Gai looked like a cat begging their human master to say yes.

[Oh...]

The two Commanders looked at each other again. Maya approached them.

"Commander Yuda, we can use the bubble to transport him there." Yuda looked at the boy. After a few seconds, he gave a small smile and patted Maya's hair. Maya smiled and was happy for the familiar yet warm gesture.

"Alright, since you insist." Luca smiled to this.

[You always have a soft spot for him]

[Well, who can resist a boy who looked like a cat plus another boy who looked like a tiger pup beg for your affirmation?]

Luca nodded at this. Gai was looking at both Commanders with confusion.

[True]

"Uh, does that mean I can go see them?" Yuda nodded. Maya approached Gai and offered a device that looked like a watch.

"Yes! Let's go see your brothers! Here, wear this." Gai grabbed the device and wore it. Full of energy, he immediately sat on the edge of the bed.

"Let's go!" He then stopped. Maya was already near the door.

"What is it?" Gai looked lost (again). He was touching the device Maya gave him.

"Uhm...How do I use this?"

* * *

TBC

* * *

Please review! Thanks much! ^^


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:** I do not own Saint Beast. Credits go to the original creator.

**Characters:** Yuda, Luca, Maya, a very excited Gai, a not so excited Kira, Goh (still sleeping)

Here is the next chapter! Enjoy reading! ^^

* * *

"So, we found a companion for Maya." He tried to stifle his chuckle but it was still heard by the other.

"True." He also let out a chuckle. He then looked at the scene before him.

The two boys were both wrapped in bubble and are chasing each other, forgetting the initial purpose of getting out of the room. When Maya was cornered, Gai immediately rush in for the kill but Maya elegantly avoided the crash and instead, Gai bounced off the wall and is now upside down. Maya was laughing so hard inside the bubble. Gai, grinning as well, swam towards Maya and the two bounced off of each other.

"This is SO much fun!" Maya nodded in agreement.

"It is so much! Let's go to the cockpit, I wanna show you my work station!" And was about to head off when his bubble was caught by a slightly annoyed blonde male.

"Maya." Maya looked at the person. He was not affected by the dead pan voice quality of his brother.

"Kira-nissan! Meet Gai, the first human to wake up. Gai, meet my brother, Kira. He is the Commander's elite guard. He is super cool too!" Gai swam towards the two.

"Oh, so you have a brother too? Hi, my name is Kageyama Gai, nice to meet you!" He stretched his hand for a hand shake. Kira just looked at it as if a monster will suddenly appear.

"You do realize you are in a bubble therefore such contact is impossible." Gai realized this and scratched his head instead.

"Oh, sorry. My bad." Maya looked at his brother, reproaching.

"Kira-nissan, please be nice to Gai. He is my first friend." Kira looked at Maya.

"Oh really?" Maya returned his stare.

"Yes. Really." The two were locked in a staring contest and Gai was wondering how to break the tension when a clap got their attention. It was Luca.

"Well, we should not keep your brothers waiting, Gai." Happy for the change of topic, Gai perked up.

"Oh yeah! I wanna see them!" he then swam towards Luca and followed him. Yuda looked at the two brothers.

"Kira, Maya, you want to join us?" Maya nodded and left a surprised Kira. Maya followed where Gai went to. Kira was left shocked and surprise. Yuda approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Kira, let Maya reach out to other people. There are people out there who would like Maya as their friend." Kira looked sad at this.

"I know that Commander. It's just that...I'm worried that they might hurt him. Just like those other bastards." His fist closed in rage, remembering the times that Maya was bullied because of their blood line. Yuda gave an empathetic nod.

"I know. But not all want to hurt Maya. Gai wants to be friends with him. And I am sure a lot more would love to be his friend, just let them in." Kira was silent and after a few minutes, he released a sigh of defeat.

"Alright. I...I will try to be open minded." Yuda smiled at this.

"Thank you. Do not worry; I would not let Maya be hurt." Kira looked happy at this statement.

"Thank you Commander." They then followed the others.

"I guess..." Yuda looked at him, encouraging him to open up.

"I guess, I am just afraid Maya might get hurt. Father did everything to protect us and we are forever grateful to him. But, when we are outside, just like this, were Father could not protect us, it is up to me to protect Maya and myself."

"I know where you are coming from. But your protection is preventing Maya and yourself to reach out to people who want to be friends with you." He pat Kira's back.

"Relax. You have us to protect you all. Depend on us even just a little." Kira looked ashamed.

"S-Sorry Commander. That was not my intention." Yuda softly laughed at this.

"I know, all I am asking is for you to relax, okay?" Kira nodded.

"Yes, Commander." They then entered the first room. Kageyama Goh's room.

* * *

Inside were the same weird looking helmets Gai saw the first time. Gai nudged Maya's bubble.

"Who are they?" Maya looked at where Gai was pointing.

"Oh them? They are Takeru's assistant. Basically, they are medical experts as you might call them." Gai nodded. Confirming his earlier assumption that they are indeed from the medical field. But he is still not sure whether to trust them or not. Then he looked at the transparent window. The medic people gave way to Gai as he walked past them and peered on the window. He gasped.

"It's Anija!" He had his hands and face planted on the window. Maya was beside him.

"Anija? I thought his name is Kageyama Goh?" Gai nodded, face still planted on the window.

"Yeah, that is his name. But we all call him Anija. It means big brother. You don't know?" Gai looked surprised at Maya. Maya shook his head softly.

"Sorry, this is the first time I have heard that term." Gai looked confused.

"Wow, really? Your Japanese is really good so I thought you are familiar with that term..." Then the door opened and another weird helmet came out, scaring Gai a bit as he stand in defensive mode, Maya looking at him curiously. The said weird helmet talked to Luca and the silver-white haired man nodded and looked at Gai.

"Let's go in." Gai nodded and followed hurriedly but he was held back by a soft grip. He looked back and saw Maya disengaged the bubble he was in and made Gai do the same by giving instructions. Happy that they are simple and easy to follow, he was released from the bubble and went in to follow Luca with Maya following closely behind.

Inside, the machines near Goh were beeping in a calm state. Gai approached the sleeping man and looked sad.

"Goh..." He touched Goh's hand.

"Anija..." No response. Gai gazed at the sleeping man's hand.

"How long have we been sleeping?" Luca answered.

"About a few days now. You are the first to wake up." Gai nodded.

"Yes, because I was the first to be put in, in that thing." Remembering the past, his eyes looked glazed. Maya looked worried and was about to approached Gai when Luca stopped him. He shook his head softly.

[Let him...]

Maya then nodded and watched as Gai, while holding Goh's hands, recount what happened.

* * *

_I remembered I was in a game plaza called "Saint Poison". I was hanging out with Tamami and a few of the other guys at my school. School ended then and we were just chilling and talking about nonsense stuff when we heard a glass shattering nearby._

_I remembered I was secretly eating Tamami's ice cream when she was not looking, when that happened and surprised, her hands jolted and the ice cream hit my face. I can still remember the coldness of the sweet dessert. And also the sticky feeling. Ugh. Gross._

"_HEY! What gives, Tamami?!" I quickly tried to clean my face off while the guys laughed their asses off at my expense. Tamami, equally surprised, looked apologetic at first._

"_Oh, sorry!" And she fished out a tissue and stopped short._

"_Wait a second. ARE YOU EATING MY ICE CREAM AGAIN, Gai?!" She looked angry, like a bear whose salmon was snatched after fishing for it. I took a step back, suddenly afraid for my life._

"_Erhm, Tamami, I can explain..." I took another step back as she inched closer, plotting ways on how to easily put me in my misery and beg for forgiveness. Another step closer to my death._

"_You. Are. So. Dead." My back hit a wall who decided to side with Tamami and cut off my escape by being there. I blurted out something and quickly defended myself by putting both hands in front of my face when I heard a familiar sound. It seems I was not the only one who heard it since Tamami also stopped and looked to the right. I lowered my guard down. Bad decision on my end._

"_MY HERO!" I shouted and Tamami decided that was the best time to exact revenge as her fist made a solid connection to my nose. My back hit the solid wall behind and I fell on my right side, hit the ground, head first. I saw stars in the middle of afternoon. Dang, what is happening to the world? The guys shouted their appreciation and sometimes I wonder whose side are they really on. I felt a presence neared me. Her hands on her waist, she is looking like every inch of a demon preying on weak beings such as myself. Her feet on both sides of my torso. _

_It reminded me she was wearing a skirt._

_A short one._

_And I am seeing something guys are not suppose to see. _

_I blushed for all I was worth and Tamami looked worried again. She might be thinking I have hit my head in a bad way or something. She is that nice. Too bad she is not nice all the time. She was about to check me when one of the guys, who decided that the sucker punch was not enough entertainment for them, decided to add another blow._

"_Tamami! He is seeing your undies!" And laughed as if there is no tomorrow. After I survived this, IF I survive take note, there will BE no tomorrow for him. Just you wait, you traitor!_

_Tamami, remembering that she was wearing a skirt and not shorts like she used to, blush a whole lot shade of red and backed away from me and closed her legs. She was pointing an accusing finger towards me._

"_Pervert! Ecchi! Pedophile! I HATE YOU GAI!" She was near to crying. The background was filled with assholes laughing their asses off. I was nursing my nose when I got up to sitting position, and worse for me, my brain decided to copy Tamami's blushing by unearthing all types of red it could conjure of and smack it in my face._

"_I never requested to see those. And who are you calling pedophile? We are just the same age. Stupid." Bad wording. I just dug my own grave. Seeing Tamami's horrified/menacing/murderous look, I wish I have a pen and paper so I could write who killed me and my last will, addressed to my brothers. And request to them to kill these assholes who called themselves my friends so I will not be lonely on the other side. Too bad, my bag was located near these so called assholes._

_Tsk._

_Oh well, I could use my blood to pinpoint who killed me. I hope I have that much energy left afterwards._

"_Prepare to meet your creator." She said this while she cracked her knuckles, readying for a long but fun murder. For her anyways. Then my cellphone rang. I gestured the "stop-your-actions-for-now" to Tamami and took out my cellphone. The screen says it was Shin. MY SAVIOR!_

"_Hey Shin! What's up-" He cut me off right immediately._

"_Gai, listen. Goh will be there in a minute. He will take you someplace safe. Go with him and I will explain everything when you get here." Then he hung up._

"_Wait, what-" All I heard is the beeping sound. Tamami cocked her head sideways._

"_Done with your last words?"_

_I was wishing for my said hero to appear when he did. THANK GOODNESS! He appeared behind Tamami, a few feet away._

_Goh removed the visor of his helmet and looked panicked. Weird. I have never seen him like that before. But man, he is looking cool! As usual. Today, he is wearing his favourite black leather jacket (Shin gave that to him as a present). Matching that is his favourite blue jeans and another black leather boots (Rei gave that to him as a present as well). I noted idly that I am the only one who has not contributed yet to his wardrobe. That...is not good. Looking back on his face, it awaken me from my stupid albeit useless thinking and went back to the present situation. His panic expression. Totally not good._

"_Gai! Get on here, we're leaving!" Alarmed at hearing his equally panicked voice, I immediately rose and approached him. He tossed me his extra helmet and addressed the others._

"_I suggest you go somewhere safe. This city is no longer safe. Gai!" He grabbed me when I was about to grab my bag._

"_Goh, my bag..." He roughly shoved me towards him._

"_There is no time for that. Get in!" Confused, I glanced back where my bag is and saw Tamami clutching it._

"_Don't worry Gai. I will keep it for you. You go with your brother now."Unsure, I nodded. She gave a small smile. It looks a little shaken. She must be worried with Goh's expression as well. He is never like this. Well, I for one have seen him like this ONCE but it was such a long time ago. It was when Shin got lost in the woods. We were kids back then and for some reason, we lost sight of Shin and Goh has these crazy / worried / panic look on his face. We looked high and lo for Shin and we found him a whole lot of hours after and Goh was just the most relieved / happiest person back then._

"_Just get it back tomorrow, okay?" I nodded back and wore the helmet and rode Goh's bike. He powered the beast into life and we went flying._

"_Goh! What is happening?" My arms circled his stomach, and at the speed we are going, I clutched tighter._

"_You will soon see." We were speeding in an alley and I was worried that we might hit something but Goh is very good. He easily dodged them left and right as if it is nothing. Then we were in an open road and all I saw was...chaos._

_We were heading south and all I see where cars left abandon on the road, some with smashed windows. Some were turned over and everywhere I see is smoke, some under fire. No one inside, I hoped. And then those things, slowly walking as if it is hard to do. Like they have a sprained ankle or something. I was terrified beyond doubt. And no, not because of how they walk, it's because they have this weird look and they emit this weird sound too. I never get scared easily. Nope. Never. Ever. That would be Rei but when he does get scared, he gets into defensive mode and he is deadly in that mode. Beat you to a bloody pulp first, ask later. I should know, for I have been a victim once. I never repeated that prank ever again. Anyways, we are getting side tracked. I stopped looking at those things and asked the person who seem to know what is going on._

"_W-What are those...?" I can feel Goh is concentrating in driving but the urge to answer me won over._

"_I have no idea but they attack humans and eat them." I looked hard at his back with disbelief._

"_Eat...them? You mean, they eat...humans?" The helmet in front of me nodded._

"_Wh-What, are they like, zombies?" And we passed a woman fleeing on one of those creatures and tried to stop in front of us but the said zombie caught up and grabbed the hair and bit her neck. She was screaming in pain and we just went passed her. I could still hear the sickening sound of flesh being torn off and the sound of chewing it, with blood splurting, heck, I guess everywhere. Ugh. I closed my eyes and hid on Goh's wide back._

"_What is going on here?!" I was trying hard not to cry, still remembering that helpless woman whose scream I can no longer hear._

_Goh held my hand on his stomach and clasped them hard._

"_I don't know either. All I know is that I have to get you out of here and get to safety." I felt calmed after that. Even though he is wearing his bike gloves, his warmth penetrated through it, soaking mine in its warmth. Feels good. I feel secured for some reason after that. And then Goh's hand went back to the bike handle. I suddenly remembered the call earlier._

"_Wait, what about Shin? And Rei?"_

"_Don't worry, they are already safe." I felt relieved to hear that. Then I remembered Tamami._

"_What about Tamami's family? What about them?" Goh shook his head. We are now entering a rather familiar scene. We were heading towards Shin's office._

"_I don't know." I felt horrified. I remembered again that helpless woman._

"_We have to go back. We have to go back and save Tamami."Goh shook his head vigorously._

"_We cannot go back. Reiga said he will take care of them and Yuki. They will be fine."I was unsure about it._

"_Are you sure?" Goh just nodded._

"_Yes. That is what he told me. I will have to believe him."I noticed how tight Goh's voice is when Yuki's name was mentioned so I decided to believe that as well and rest my head against Goh's warm back. Yuki is Goh's long time girlfriend._

_They knew each other way back when we were kids. I guess, you could say they are childhood sweethearts. Back then, I believed in my heart and soul that Goh and Shin were the couple. Because Goh acts like our father and Shin acts as the mother. And they are really close, like REALLY close. Like no brother would do that to another brother, but well, I grew with it so it never looked weird to me. Then they explained Yuki to me and I finally got it. I like her. She is sweet, caring, and warm, just like a mother. She stays with me when Shin or Goh is not around. And she reads me bed time stories, just like what Shin does before I sleep. We all wanted her to be Goh's wife, to be our sister-in-law. They are such a perfect couple. I wish she is okay and safe from these...zombies or whatever they are called._

_After a few hours, we were on a desolate part of the city. No people, none of those creatures here, just a city that looked like it's in a post apocalyptic movie set. Debris everywhere, the establishments looked abandoned. Now that I think about it, it looked sad. The place when devoid of humans or of any human activity. It kinda made me feel sad too. Distracting myself, I noted that there were men in black on top of buildings, guns ready to shoot._

"_Who are those?" Goh briefly looked at them and eyes went back to the road._

"_Reiga's men. We are safe starting here." The speed also went down but it is still fast for my standards._

_Then we were surrounded by forest._

"_Are we heading towards Shin's office?" Goh nodded._

"_Yes. Right now, it is the safest place in the planet." Then an enormous building came into view. I have been there once and all I could remember was that it was huge inside; it has tunnels underneath it that goes beyond the top soil. Goh came into stop at what looked like a check point and removed his helmet. I felt his finger tapping my hands._

"_They need to check your eyes."_

"_What for?"_

"_To check if you were infected."_

"_Am not."_

"_I know you are not but they don't. Now, remove the helmet."_

"_Oh, alright. Sheesh..."_

_A bulky and brusque man in black approached us. He is holding an armalite and I noticed that his finger is near the trigger. I suddenly felt tense and clutched Goh's leather sleeves._

"_Name?"_

"_Kageyama Goh and Kageyama Gai. We're here to see Shin." The gruff man looked at a clipboard held by his assistant and he nodded. He nodded towards the two._

"_Let me see your eyes." Happy to follow easy instructions, I followed what was asked from me. A small device was then placed in front of our eyes and a blue laser-like light run over them. A few seconds later, a result came in. It was color green._

"_You may proceed." I was about to wear my helmet when said man stopped me. I was shocked as well as Goh._

"_No helmets." He took the helmet and threw it away, same thing with Goh's. I was about to protest when Goh stopped him._

"_I understand. We will go now." He then powered on the bike and went straight to the building._

"_What an asshole! I will ask Shin to remove him from his job. Bastard! No, better yet, make him grab our helmets and run to us while we are on this bike. Freaking asshole!" Goh was just quiet. I was annoyed that I did not get any reaction from him, so that just made me all the more annoyed._

"_Why did you let him do that Goh?" They are now in an area that looked like the parking lot. Lots of cars were in here but we just went passed them and Goh went inside a tunnel-looking like entrance. I guess he will park inside. We were met with a whole lot of more cars, most were high end cars, and Goh was just going farther and farther down. I never knew that it was possible to go further down but we are doing it now so, screw my logic. It's pretty useless right now. I threw it out and let it land heavily on kami-sama knows which floor is that. Going back to my heated / increasing temper about the bastard who threw our helmets to the ground. I was still waiting for Goh to answer back. You know, conversation is supposed to be a tennis match against another person. Not the wall. Although the wall will answer back your strike...which means it is the same if you are fighting with another person...which is now making no sense and I suddenly regret throwing my logic somewhere high above._

"_He must have his reason." Was all Goh said. This answer did not appease my anger._

"_What the hell could possibly be the REASON huh?!" The bike stopped making my head hit Goh's back with a sudden jolt._

"_Ouch! What was that for?! And why is it cold here?" Goh just blew a sigh. A puff of warm air came out of his mouth._

"_We're here." We are still in a parking area but no vehicles this time, just our bike. Goh climbed off and I followed. I was shivering very badly._

"_Brrr! So cold! What's with this place?" I clasped my hands around myself in an attempt to keep warm but it was futile. I noticed my teeth are chattering really hard, and my body is shivering really bad as well and I could not do anything to stop it. Goh was about to remove his jacket when the door opened. A familiar man came out, holding warm furry coats. I became happy all of a sudden._

"_SHIN!"_

_Said man came towards us, jogging...slowly. I remembered Shin is not the athletic type of guy so Goh and I went to meet him halfway. I embraced Shin's slim waist with delight. He pats my head in return. I was happy. I suddenly forgot the gruff / bastard man._

"_Gai. Goh. Thank goodness you are both safe."He handed one furry coat to Goh and he put the other one on me. I noticed he does not have any coat and stopped him._

"_Where's yours?" Shin just smiled and shook his head._

"_I am fine. You need this than me."I was pouting as my way of letting him know I do not believe a word he just said now as I reluctantly let him put it on me. Goh did not wear his. He handed it back to Shin._

"_I don't need it. I have my leather jacket so I am fine. You need this more. I doubt that lab coat of yours can be warm enough." After he was finished with me, he looked worriedly at Goh._

"_Anija..." He shook his head and he was about to say something when another vehicle came in. An armoured vehicle. It stopped a few feet away from us and a man in black opened the door. There was a figure slumped inside. Unmoving. I have no idea who it was but apparently Shin does. As expected of my genius brother._

"_Rei?" The figure inside stirred as if woken up and his head came up. Yup, it is my brother, Rei. But something looks...wrong though. He looked like he wiped his eyes and climbed off the vehicle. He was shivering as well but he walked slowly, really slow. It suddenly reminded me of those...things above. No, that can't be, right? Shin took the coat Goh offered him and approached Rei. Goh followed as well sensing that something was not right with Rei. So, I am not the only one. I followed them too since whenever he sees Shin, he will be bright like the sun and greet him with open arms. That did not happened today. Also, as we approached him, it looked like he was crying. I began to worry._

"_Shin..." and then he hugged Shin. He is crying. I was worried but Goh just placed a hand on my head and that made me stop. He approached them while Shin was comforting Rei. He took the coat he gave Shin and draped it over Rei's sobbing shoulder. I wanted to comfort him as well so I went beside him and stroke his back._

"_Rei...w-what happened? Why are you crying? Did someone hurt you?" Rei's crying somewhat subsided, tears still strolling down his cheeks. I took out my handkerchief and gave it to him._

"_T-thanks..."and he dried his tears while sniffing. Okay, I admit it. Rei and I are always into fighting each other. It's like we were born to disagree each other for the rest of our lives. I don't know, that's what it feels like for me anyways. Okay, whatever that is, bottomline, we fight. A lot. But there are times, such as these, that we forget that and just be like brothers, you know? Care for each other. Look out for each other, that kind of stuff. When I feel down, he comforts me and I to him, just like right now. Because, at the end of the day, as Goh always says, we are still brothers. The blood running in me is the same as the one running in Rei. Nothing in this world can ever change that fact and even if the whole world turns against you, you can count on your brother to be there with you. I can attest to that, I experienced that before and it was one of those moments in my life that I really cried and was so happy to have them as my brothers. That's another story and we are getting side tracked for the nth time here. Going back, Rei has somewhat calmed down but he is still clinging to Shin who is petting his hair, his way of comforting someone. Goh has his hand on Rei's shoulder._

_Then there was a loud noise above. We all looked upwards. A few dust from the ceiling fell and another blast was heard. Another man came out of the door and I remembered him._

"_Reiga!" In a few strides, he was beside Shin. He is as tall as Goh. He wears the same lab coat as Shin except his name is on it. He has a short, clean cut black hair, sharp blue eyes and sharp nose. He also has thick manly eyebrows and thin lips. He is tanned, because he is into water sports. You could say he is good looking, I don't know, but I was told he has a following here in their office. Like fans, so I guess he is popular. But then again, they own the dang big company so I do not know if they like him because of him or because of his wealth. Sheesh, we are getting sidetracked again. Going back, I heard he likes my brother Shin but I have yet to know. Shin, and this I know, has a LARGE following in this office. Like, really. And we are not rich so I know they liked him because, well, Shin is...Shin. But, too bad for them. Because of two things: first, Goh will not allow anyone to come near Shin with ill intent and second, Shin is dense as hell. Period. If you think that he will get it by just you showing off "signs", then think again. Hell will freeze first before that ever happens. And hell freezing over will never happen therefore I conclude that, it is impossible for Shin to know unless you smack it right on his face. That is how dense he is. One time, I spoke to Shin about making a thesis about his denseness. I was met with a very strong smack on the back of my head courtesy of Goh and a growling hungry stomach courtesy of Rei not giving me food. And Shin, well, being Shin, took pity on me and ended my unannounced / forced hunger strike and fed me. And he still has no idea by what I mean by his denseness. My two brothers were watching me so I just said never mind._

_...AND we strayed way off the path so let us go back to the main topic. Goh often told me that I tend to lose focus rather quickly. And I am starting to believe him. I snapped back when I heard Reiga speaking._

"_Hey, good thing you are all safe. Let us get inside. It is not safe here." Shin nodded and he ushered us inside. The last thing I saw of the parking lot is a man in black in the armoured vehicle went back up towards the top soil._

_Someone who looked exactly like Reiga came to greet us. I knew it was Keigo._

_Since they are identical twins, Keigo is the other pea in the pond with Reiga. Uhm, not sure what that means but, what I am trying to say is they look so much alike, I do not want to repeat the description awhile ago. Oh, one thing is different. The hair. His hair is the color of red. As in, like candy red. Yeah, maybe fiery red is more appropriate. Goh looked at me funny and pet my hair. He knows I do not like that (except with Shin) and I shoved his hand away, completely shutting off my train of thoughts. Happy he made me annoyed, he went to follow Shin. Sulking that he won, I reluctantly followed._

"_Keigo, how was it?" Shin asked. By now, Rei has calmed down and is no longer crying. We were in a big, circular room with four doors. We must be all the way down because the elevator took forever to get here. I thought we were about to reach the core of the planet Earth but it was good I was wrong._

_Keigo nodded and handed a clipboard to Shin who looked at it quickly._

"_They are all prepared. We can start with the cryopreservation anytime." I did not get that. Goh approached Shin as well. Glad that I am not the only one buffled._

"_What is going on Shin?" Shin looked at him._

"_I will explain later. Let us go inside." He went straight to a door that has, oddly enough, my name above it._

"_Cool, is this my new room now? Is this some kind of shelter while we battle those things? By the way, I want a cool gun. Something that will only take one shot to kill those...things, okay? A Smith and Wetson would be good. Customized if possible." For some reason, I was excited on that fact. Rei, who was back to his old self, looked worried. And scared. Not good._

"_What is this place?"After we entered, it was a short hallway then a big room was inside. Contradictory to what I was hoping that it will have: like a huge, fluffy bed, a LED 40' TV, PS4 and a huge ref, I saw a big tube like machine right in the middle. And no TV in sight. I was confused._

"_What is that?" Keigo answered that for me because Shin was busy configuring something on that device. I was having a bad feeling about this._

"_That is a cryo preservation machine. A human will be placed inside and will be preserved for years until it is the right time to wake up." I change my mind: I found that cool so I approached the huge machine._

"_Cool! So, who will be the human to go inside it?" Reiga answered my question._

"_You." I turned to look at him, thinking he was joking. He does not look like he is so my eyes were the same size as saucers. If that is even possible._

"_What? ME?! Rei looking worried did not help the situation. Goh was silent. I looked at him._

"_You knew about this, didn't you?" He looked the other way. For some reason, this just made me angrier._

"_You knew but you did not tell me?! Why? 'Coz you think I'm stupid or something?!" I feel like a volcano about to explode. Rei was about to approach me to help me calmed down when Shin beat him to it first._

"_He knew but I was the one who asked him to keep silent about it." I looked incredulously at him. _

"_Say...WHAT?!" Mind you, I was never angry at Shin. NEVER. But I think that there is always a first to everything and that Fate decided that now was the time._

_He stooped down so his face will be the same level as mine. I know this gesture anywhere but I will not yield. I looked the other way, refusing to look at him._

"_You are not the only one. We all are undergoing this. This project was meant to protect the future generation. All of those things above will be swiped clean while selected humans stay here, away from any danger of being exposed. Once the above ground is once more suitable to live in, you will be awakened and once more live above ground and rebuild civilization."_

_It was starting to make sense and the anger I felt towards Shin was gone just like that. Poof. So, Shin deemed that we are the selected few. Is that why there were a lot of cars above? They are also undergoing this...cryo-whatever the name is. So, we will, like what, sleep or something while those things are killed...kami-sama knows how and then when they are gone, we get to be freed...? I knew where this is heading and I refused to acknowledge it. I could feel my eyes getting wet. I gulped down my saliva, hoping it will stop it. It did not. Body, you are such a TRAITOR!_

_Shin continued; he must be sensing he is making his point across._

"_I would like for all of you to be there when that happens. I want all of you to be there and rebuild civilization back to normal." There was something in his statement that triggered something in me and I looked at him worriedly._

"_Shin, wh-" He cut off whatever I was about to say._

"_It will be alright. Goh and Rei will be there for you." My fear is becoming real._

"_And me too. Don't worry; we will all be there for you. Tamami and the others all have their place as well." I stopped to this statement. I did notice there were 4 doors, so that means me, Rei, Shin and Goh. And my worry earlier about Tamami's safety has been guaranteed. Okay, so we will still be together. I looked at the machine again. Shin dropped the final blow._

"_Please, Gai. Please, do it for me." Defeated, I sighed and nodded. He gave a small smile and he kissed my head. I always find that shameful but right now, I did not mind at all. I clutched Shin's lab coat. Taking that as his cue, he hugged me real tight. I felt the whole building shook. That does not sound good. Reiga came up beside Shin._

"_Shin, we do not have time..." Shin only nodded and released me from the warm hug. He then approached the large machine and it started beeping to life. Rei and Goh approached me. Goh ruffled my hair in a mess._

"_Mou, Goh, stopped that..." the treacherous tears are making a comeback. Goh gave me the same smile as Shin did._

"_Don't cry now." I looked the other way and huffed._

"_Am not crying." I crossed my arms across my chest in defiance. Tamami will be so proud of me, if only she could see me. Goh removed his hands and it was replaced by a slender hand. Rei._

"_Trust Shin." I nodded to that._

"_I do. Always and will be." He took his hands away as the machine's door opened wide. Inside was a bed of some sort. It looked like a modern coffin for me._

_I looked at it as if it will eat me or something. Shin approached me and held out his hand. I stared at it and then Shin, he gave an encouraging smile. I smiled back for him to hide my fear and gave him my hand. He ushered me towards the machine and I climbed inside it. After a few shifting here and there, I felt comfortable already._

_Keigo was on my left side._

"_That is memory foam so it will follow your form, making it comfortable. How was it?" I nodded to him._

"_No wonder it feels great. Yeah, I guess I can sleep here...I think." He smiled._

"_Don't worry, your brother made sure it is working perfectly." I have no doubt on that. He then went away and Goh and Rei replaced him._

"_Wow, looking good." Goh gave a snickering laugh. I pout at this._

"_Shut up, Goh." As if not enough, Rei joined in as well. Probably noticing my discomfort despite my earlier statement._

"_You look more handsome already." That, is a low blow._

"_SHUT UP!" He just chuckled, enjoying himself on my expense. Keigo was saying something and they both backed away. I suddenly felt having a separation anxiety and wished they would stay there. The last person I saw was Shin. He pats my head._

"_Everything will be fine, Gai." I nodded and he too, backed away. I think there were saying something but I could no longer hear anything. The door closed and after feeling separation anxiety, now I feel claustrophobic when it completely closed. Then, from standing, it shifted to lying down. I was breathing shallowly and fast. Lots of things were going in my mind that it caused traffic. Wow, imagine that. I could not bring my hands because it was so cramped inside. I did not realize it was this cramped here. Then a mist was blown inside and I feel sleepy. I was fighting it but it was just so strong. My last view was the ceiling._

_And then everything went black._

* * *

TBC

* * *

Please do not forget to review! Much appreciated! ^^


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:** I do not own Saint Beast. Credits go to the original creator.

**Characters:** Yuda, Luca, Maya, Kira, Takeru, a reminiscing Gai, Goh (still sleeping), Shin (another sleepyhead), Rei (awake...?)

Here is the next chapter! Enjoy reading! ^^

* * *

Gai is silent afterwards, not just him, everyone is silent. Then, a few seconds after, he looks at them.

"Can I see Shin?" Yuda smiled and nodded.

"Of course. Let us go." The others left the room and Gai, held Goh's hand one last time and squeezed it hard.

"I will be back, Anija..." Then he left.

* * *

They went inside Shin's room who is still sleeping. Gai looked at him from the door.

"Shin..." he slowly approached the sleeping form. He stared long at his sleeping brother and took his big but soft hand and held it tightly. The rest were standing by the door. Maya is looking at them, back and forth, and is not sure why they were not going inside so he was about to when Luca stopped him. The young man looked at him and Luca just shook his head and ushered him outside the door.

"Why can we not go inside as well?" Yuda pointed towards the window and Maya followed it. He noticed Gai's back was hunched and it was going up and down slowly, as if he was breathing slowly. Maya does not understand. And he noticed some water droplets falling from Gai's eyes.

"What is happening?" Kira came up behind him and hugged his shoulders.

"He is crying, Maya. Let us leave him and give him some time." Maya looked at Kira.

"Why is he crying?"

"It must be those tears that he was not able to let go years ago." Luca answered him. Maya was processing this information. And looked at the crying Gai.

[He was afraid back then, but he trusted his brother so much, that is why he overcame it. And now that they are all safe, because of Shin, he felt gratitude and happy at the same time...he must be wishing Shin is awake now to express his heartfelt appreciation...]

"Oh, I see now."

They saw Gai wiping his eyes with the back of his hands and went towards the door and met up with them again. He sniffed.

"Uh, S-sorry about that. Uhm, *sniff* so all that is left is Rei." Luca nodded.

"Let us go meet him then."

* * *

They met Takeru inside Rei's room. He was noting some sudden changes in the human's sleeping condition. Yuda introduced Gai to him.

"Gai, this is Takeru, our medical expert. He oversees all of your health and restoration back to life. Takeru, this is Gai, the youngest of the Kageyama siblings." Takeru bowed slightly to Gai. The blonde human bowed back.

"Greetings and welcome back." Gai smiled.

"Yes, thanks!" He pointed to Rei. "Can I see him?" Takeru smiled back.

"Of course." Gai then went past the doctor and went to Rei's sleeping form; Maya followed him with Kira lingering on the background. Takeru approached Yuda and spoke softly.

"How was he?"

"He is an energetic kid. Easily loses focus, as his elder brother tells him. But he is a good kid." Takeru nodded at this while he is typing all information on his metallic clipboard.

"I see. Just like Maya then." Luca chuckled at this.

"You have no idea. You should have seen them-" he stopped and looked surprised. Takeru suddenly looked up, curiosity on his face.

"Commander Luca? What's-" Luca was pointing to something. Takeru and the others followed and noticed something.

Another miracle.

Rei is slowly opening his eyes.

Luca, suddenly remembered what happened to Gai earlier, run towards the control panel of the room and dim the lights. The room then became slightly dark. They all held their breath as Rei tried to adjust his sight on the now dimmed room. Yuda looked at Luca.

[Thanks]

Luca smiled back.

[Just want to avoid another panic attack]

They stayed near the door as Rei squinted his eyes as he slowly adjusted to the sudden dark room. Then he made an attempt to sit up properly but his arms proved to be weak and gave in, slumping him back to the soft bed. Luca almost want to approach the beautiful human but Yuda stopped him, shaking his head and pointed at something. Luca followed that and saw an astonished Gai, standing by Rei's bedside.

"REI!" Said man looked up at the voice who called his name.

"...!" He looked as if he tried saying something but nothing came out of his mouth. He clutched his throat as Gai hurled himself towards him, hugging him tightly. Rei blinked once, and then another to see who hugged him. Gai was crying.

"REI! I'm so happy you are awake! YOU really are awake!" Realizing now what happened; Rei hugged the young man back.

[Gai...]

Said man continued sniffing, relieved and definitely happy.

[Gai...what happened? Why can't I talk?]

"It's alright, Rei. Your voice will come back in a few minutes." Rei looked alarmed when he heard another voice all of a sudden. His hold on Gai tightens suddenly. He then notices figures near the door.

[Gai? Gai! Who are they?!]

A tall and handsome red haired man held his two hands, the same height as his chest as if he is surrendering, as he slowly approached the two. Rei just got all the more suspicious and he suddenly grabbed Gai's shoulder, making the blonde man stopped crying and noticed how tense Rei's body is. Yuda also stopped in his tracks, afraid that he just set Rei into fight mode.

[Not good...]

"Rei? What is it? And ouch, your hold hurts..." He looked up and gazed where his brother is staring. He gasped and placed his hands on Rei's shoulder.

"No! They are not bad guys, Rei. They saved us!" Rei looked at him incredulously.

[And you want me to believe that? I do not have my voice yet but someone answered my question as if I spoke them out loud. How is that even possible?!]

Kira raised an eyebrow on that observation.

[Wow, at least he is sharp. Unlike his midget of a brother]

Maya looked at him, pouting.

[Kira – niisan...]

Kira just shrugged.

A small cough was then heard. They all looked at the tall and equally handsome, silver white haired man.

"My apologies. It was I who answered your question. Forgive me if I have frightened you." Rei suddenly looked unsure while Gai looked at them, not knowing what was happening.

"Wait. Rei asked you something? But I did not hear anything...he still does not have his voice. Yet." Then they heard a clap, asking for order. They all looked at the source.

Yuda looked at the two humans.

"I believe an explanation is in order."

* * *

Rei is now able to sit upright without any assistance. For some reason, he felt energy entering his body, making him stronger by the minute. He looked on his body, checking any difference. He found none, except for the tubes that are connected to his body. He lightly touched them and felt no pain.

[They are inserted rather well...]

He then looked at his surroundings. It looked like your regular hospital, except that everything is made of metal. Around him are machines that he thinks are what monitors his health. Although some looked weird and another looked like a floating monitor above his head. On his farther left side is a small bed and what looked like a window but the curtains are closed. On his right is a large transparent window but for some reason, he could not see the other side of it.

[Must be a one-way window...creepy...]

He shifted a bit, Gai sitting right beside him. The younger of the two has his legs dangling on the side of the bed with his arms between his legs supporting his upper body. Enough light was set up so to avoid blinding Rei, and enough for him to see the other people in the room.

He noticed a man the same height as Gai and was sitting on a chair by his feet. And on his back, standing like a sentinel, is a blonde guy who has droopy eyes and looked annoyed. To his left, is a black haired man who seems to be occupied with something on a metallic clipboard. And beside the black haired man is the one who answered his question earlier, the handsome silver white haired man. As if noticing he is looking at him, Luca gave a small but warm smile. Rei was shocked at the sudden but unexpected beautiful smile and suddenly looked away and instead, looked on the equally tall red haired man, also standing in attention.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Yuda and this man here," he gestured towards Luca. "Is my assistant Commander, Luca." He gave a small nod towards Rei. Rei furrowed his eyebrows.

[Commander?]

Yuda continued.

"This young man here is Maya." Maya smiled and waved. Gai smiled and waved back. Noticing that Gai seemed to be friends with this man, Rei nodded slightly.

"This is his older brother, Kira." Kira gave a nod. Rei just tilted his head. This irked Kira.

[What the-]

Maya, making sure no one noticed or at least the humans did not noticed it, gave his older brother a small nudge.

[Kira – niisan...]

Kira snorted in answer. He then noticed that Rei was looking at him directly, making him flinched slightly.

[What now?!]

Maya stared as well.

[He seems to be...wait...]

[Droopy eyes...]

The brothers were stopped on this comment. This just made Kira explode.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" He made a motion that he is about to approach Rei when Luca suddenly stand in front of him.

"Kira. Calm down." Kira immediately stopped.

"Commander..."

[I knew it...you guys; I'm not sure if the others can do it as well, but at least the three of you, can read my mind...]

Luca looked at him.

"Yes. But Yuda will explain it to you. I'm sorry for Kira's behaviour. Kira." He then looked at the blonde guy.

[Apologize. Now. We do not want to have any kind of animosity with the humans]

Kira looked troubled but after a few seconds, he gave a small sigh. He then looked at Rei.

"Sorry." Rei looked surprised but recovered and gave a small nod.

[Apology accepted. I'm sorry as well]

Kira stopped and made an unsure gesture of nodding. He then looked the other way, embarrassed for some reason.

Gai was watching the exchange the whole time.

"Uh, what is happening, Rei?" Rei just looked at him gave a soft sigh. To annoy him, he pet his golden hair. Gai did not like it and moved his head away.

[You will learn soon. When I get my voice back...]

Yuda, who deemed that the event has ended peacefully, gestured towards the black haired man. Rei followed.

"And this man is our doctor, Takeru." Takeru gave a slight bow. Rei returned the gesture. Yuda then walked over towards them.

"As Gai already mentioned to you, we were lucky to have found you and saved you." Gai just nodded. Remembering what happened; Rei brought his hand elegantly towards his chin and looked thoughtful. He was looking on his lap.

[But...we were in glass tubes...and WAY below the ground...wait, what happened to Tsubasa?]

He then looked at Yuda. The red haired looked apologetic.

"We did not see anybody else. Just you and your brothers." Gai hung his head when he heard this. Rei remembered Tamami, Gai's childhood friend. Then he looked at Luca.

[I see. So, how can you read our minds then? It's called Telepathy, right? Are you humans with strong ESP then?]

Luca looked at Yuda and the red haired gave a nod. He nodded back.

"Yes, we have powers. And you call it telepathy but we do not have ESP. We were born with it." The human siblings just looked at him. "We...are not like you." Same look. Kira raised an eyebrow.

[They did not get it...]

Maya looked worried.

[Should we really tell them?]

Yuda shifted a little.

[They deserve to know everything]

Takeru was just typing something on his clipboard. Then they were startled when they heard a foreign noise.

"Aliens..." all eyes were fixed on Rei. He cleared his throat and tried again.

"Am..." clears his throat again. "Am I right?" Gai looked unsure as he scratched his cheek.

"Really? They do not look like aliens to me, Rei." Then he stopped and looked surprised to his brother.

"OH! YOUR VOICE IS BACK!" and he was met with a playful shove on the face.

"And you realized just now? Seriously Gai, you have not changed..." Rei just gave a defeated sigh. Gai looked indignant.

"Hey! What was that sigh for?!" Rei placed one elegant hand on his forehead, as if in deep thought.

"Oh dear, and here I thought you have matured or something. I should have not hoped so much..." If possible, hot air could be seen puffing out of Gai's reddening face and ears.

"WHAT?!"

Rei then effortlessly placed a pointy finger on Gai's forehead as the smaller one tries to grab his face and do some bloody revenge. Having the longer limb, Rei easily managed to avoid Gai's attacks. The rest were watching this. Luca tried to stifle his laughter.

[Reminds me of a certain someone...]

Kira's face flinched a little as Maya's face became red. Yuda is also trying to stifle his laughter.

[Yes, I agree]

Kira huffed.

[See, Kira. They are no different from us. They maybe a different species but remember, they are designed after us]

When they looked on the two human siblings, Gai looked exhausted as he lie slumped on top of Rei and the older of the two looked equally exhausted as well. He looked at the red haired.

"I'm sorry about that." Yuda gave a smile.

"No worries. So, going back-" he stopped when Rei held one hand, as if asking him to stop. Yuda looked worried. Luca is already by Rei's bedside.

"Is something wrong?" Rei softly shook his head.

"This stupid brother of mine exhausted me more than I thought so I would like to rest for now. And also," he looked at Yuda.

"Maybe you can explain everything when Anija and Shin are awake? You know, to save you time in explanation and you don't have to repeat yourselves. I want to rest for a bit, if I may." Yuda nodded.

"Of course, please." He approached the bed and gently scooped Gai and went towards the small bed beside Rei. Rei then lied down as well, Luca tucked him in. Rei was blinking sleepily as he gaze at Luca's face.

"You're..." Luca looked at him.

"Hm?" Rei blinked slowly.

"...handsome." and finally closed his eyes. Luca was speechless. Yuda tucked Gai in who is already snoring peacefully. The red haired smiled and approached Luca to see if Rei has also fallen asleep. He saw an interesting red on his friend's face with Kira and Maya's curious look on the silver white haired man.

"Luca? Has Rei fallen asleep?" he spoke softly to avoid disturbing the sleeping blonde. Maya tilted his head.

"Commander Luca looked...weird." Kira just pet his hair.

"Maya. Let's just go. We have to prepare the aircraft, remember?" Maya looked like he was awaken from a deep sleep abruptly.

"Oh yeah!" and he immediately covered his mouth when he realized that Gai and Rei were both sleeping. Kira pinched his cheeks playfully. Maya winced.

"S-sorry." Kira let go and both made a salute to Yuda.

"Commander, we would like to continue where we left off in preparing the aircraft, sir." Yuda nodded.

"Carry on." Both siblings stood in attention.

"Yes sir!" and both went out of the room. Yuda looked at them smiling and went back towards a still redden Luca. He looked like he is now composing himself.

"Luca?" his friend looked at him.

"Yes?" Yuda tilted his head.

"You...feeling fine now?" Luca was taken aback by the out of the blue question. Takeru was peeking from his clipboard.

"Uh, yes. I'm...feeling fine." He absently brushed his hair for some reason and looked at Yuda again.

"Shall we?" Yuda studied Luca a little bit more and deemed that his friend is telling the truth. He nodded.

"Yes, lets." And the three left the room.

* * *

"You blushed when Rei told you that you were handsome." Takeru stated this as a matter of fact. They are now heading towards his lab where they can monitor the human siblings all at the same time. Takeru was watching closely as Luca's face began to redden again. And he walked briskly.

"I-I...did?" The black haired man nodded, watching closely Luca's expression.

"Yes, you did. Just like right now." Luca suddenly stopped.

[Really?]

Yuda stopped as well.

[Yes...]

Luca looked like he is in deep thought.

[I guess...you are not the only one then, Yuda]

The red haired nodded and smiled. Takeru raised an eyebrow.

[Huh...that fast of acceptance huh?]

Luca gave a small smile.

[I wonder when you will feel that, Takeru?]

Takeru huffed.

[I have no need for such emotion. As long as there is something that needs to be studied, that's all I will ever need]

And he continued walking, leaving the two behind. Yuda gave a small laugh.

"Oh Takeru..." Luca just shrug.

"I would like to see him in OUR situation." Yuda nodded as he began walking again. Luca followed suit.

"Yes. Someday." Luca nodded.

They finally entered the white lab and saw Takeru instructing his men. To their right, they see a very big screen where the monitor shows the human siblings. Rei and Gai are both sleeping in one room while Goh is shifting a bit from his sleep and Shin is still the same from when Yuda left him. The monitor above Rei's head is showing signs of activity, explaining the activity and the flurry of actions from the medical people in charge of the purple haired man.

"Is Rei reliving his moment before his cryo sleep?" Takeru nodded.

"Looks like it." Luca then watched worriedly.

"He would not go on another stress attack, would he?" Takeru looked unsure.

"That...I'm not sure." Yuda crossed his arms across his chest.

"I don't think he will." Luca looked at him. The red haired looked confident on his answer.

"What makes you say that?" Yuda continued staring at the monitor.

"Instinct. The visit from Gai may have helped calm his nerves." Luca pondered on this.

[True. He is at least relieved that his brothers are okay. And he must have felt he is safe here]

Yuda nodded.

One of Takeru's men shouted.

"Sir! We are getting another mental reading from Kageyama Rei, sir!" Three pairs of eye all looked on the monitor. It focused on Rei who is still sleeping but the monitor above his head is showing another staticky – like screen. Luca approached the monitor.

"Focus on it."

"Yes, Commander!"

Yuda and Takeru joined him as he patiently waits for the screen to change. Yuda noticed the monitor is now showing something.

"This time, it's Rei's view of what happened." Luca nodded.

They all watched on what occurred to Rei moments before his cryogenic sleep.

* * *

TBC

* * *

Thanks for reading! And please do not forget to review! ^^


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note:** I do not own Saint Beast. Credits go to the original creator.

**Characters:** this time, it is Rei doing the reminiscing, Tsubasa, Shin, Goh, Gai, Reiga, Keigo

**Additional notes:** Thanks so much for the reviews! Please keep 'em coming! By the way, I finally decided to use my "The Otaku Encyclopedia" so...expect to learn basic Japanese words! ^^

This is a rather LONG chapter so you have been warned...forgive me, some of the questions you had before will be (more or less) explained here, thus, the long-ness... XD

Also, I think I forgot to explain, if it is in italic, that means, it happened in the past...wow, a very LATE advisory... ^^;

*dives to a rabbit hole to hide*

===== IF YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL **(*), **THE DEFINITION IS ON THE BOTTOM PART OF THIS PAGE =====

* * *

_A pair of eyes blinked once as it gazed on the windows were the curtains flutter to the soft wind. The sun is unusually high already._

_[o...m...g]_

_Rei suddenly woke up and sat up straight and immediately grabbed the innocent looking clock and stared long and hard on it. You can just imagine a sweat drop on the helpless clock as it shows the time as 9:34am._

_[O!M!G!]_

_He suddenly flew like an eagle diving for his meal as he quickly climbed off the bed, threw his pajamas everywhere, grabbed the most decent clothes he could get his hands on (which is a white turtleneck with long sleeves, blue skinny jeans and grabbed the boots next to it – which is a brown colored one) and run as fast as his long legs could carry him. But just as he was about to open the door, he saw a small pink post-it on his door with a rather long note in it and that made him stop. He took it off and read it close to his face._

_Rei,_

_I did not bother to wake you up since you stayed so late at night to study something new. I hope it's the dish we were discussing. Hehe! I look forward to it! Anyway, Gai already went to school and Goh left early to have a date with Yuki. Sorry, you know I am no better in the kitchen as much as I would like to cook you breakfast so I bought some groceries for you to cook with since I know how much you detest convenience store bought food. You just take it easy for today, okay? Oh! I forgot, Good morning!_

_Love,_

_Shin_

"_SHIN!" and he kissed the note with all of his love. Shin is his most favourite off all of his brother, next is Goh and you figured the last one. He felt so happy so he went back to his bed and sat there smiling. Then he gently laid the note on the bedside table as he opened a small drawer and took out a heart shaped tin can. He opened it and placed the pink post-it note amongst the other letters there and closed it and held it tenderly against his chest. Then after a few minutes, he placed it back to its hiding place and wore the clothes he grabbed awhile ago and this time, went down calmly._

"_T-Tsubasa?!"_

"_HI REI! Boy, you certainly took your time sleeping! I was about to get tired of waiting and was about to barge in your room when you came down. Dang...too bad. I should have not hesitated..." the last sentence she spoke very softly to make sure Rei does not hear it. Tsubasa has a layered, shoulder length green haired. She also has her side fringes layered closed to her face. She is wearing a white blouse with long sleeve as well with a brooch that looked like a bird adorning her top dress. Her short skirt is colored red with purple colored flowers, white stockings with a matching red high heel shoes._

_Rei looked deadpan._

"_Good thing I came down. Anyways, enough of that. What are you doing here?" Tsubasa blinked once and tilted her head slightly sideways._

"_Huh? Why, am I not supposed to be here?" Rei returned the question._

"_Uh, yeah? Because this is OUR house." The lady raised an eyebrow._

"_And, like, yeah? I live next door and you kind of ask for my help about a certain something, ya know?" This time, it's Rei's turn to raise an eyebrow._

"_Right. And I already know the basics as well as the rest of the technique on how to cook it so thanks but I can handle it from here." And then he continued climbing down the stairs and went straight to the kitchen. He felt a presence following him. He turned his back and saw a trying-hard-to-look-innocent Tsubasa._

"_What are you still doing here?" Tsubasa pouted._

"_Mou (*), Rei! You are so mean! I just want to make sure you will be able to make the dish with no problems." Rei crossed his arms against his chest._

"_Are you doubting MY cooking skills?" Tsubasa shook her head._

"_Oh hell NO! I-I...I just want..." and she looked the other way, embarrassed. Rei looked at her._

"_Huh? What? I can't hear you." Tsubasa concentrated on looking at a picture on the wall. It was a picture of a young Rei as he shows off his gold medal that he won on his first ever cooking contest. _

"_I...uhm..." Rei gave a soft sigh and went towards the kitchen again._

"_Whatever. You can just do whatever you want." He did not see that Tsubasa blushed but was very happy at the same time. She followed the purple haired young man to the kitchen._

_As Shin promised, there were groceries lying on top of the kitchen counter so Rei immediately take a look on what was bought._

"_Who bought all this? Shin? Wow! So many!" Rei shifted through the bags of groceries._

"_Yes. Hmmm, that's weird, why were they here? Maybe he is running late as well. Knowing Shin, he does not know what to buy so he just bought whatever he thinks is edible. Oh! I can cook pasta with these ingredients!" He then went to shelve off the other things that are not needed._

"_Hey, Rei. Can you cook me something to eat? Something fast and easy to eat? I'm hungry~" Rei stared at her. _

"_Seriously?" Tsubasa made an akanbe (*) gesture. Rei just rolled his eyes. _

"_Sure, whatever. Let's see...you want sunny side up egg and wiener?" Tsubasa beamed at the answer._

"_YES PLEASE!" Rei then stopped packing the other groceries away and he took two eggs. As he near the stove, he grabbed the non stick frying pan, turned on the induction stove and placed the frying pan on it; quickly grabbed the oil and put some on the pan and let it stay for a few seconds. When the oil started to sizzle, he grabbed one egg and broke it on the pan one handed and started cooking. Tsubasa grabbed a chair and watched as Rei worked his magic. While waiting, he grabbed the wiener, the knife and a chopping board and cut them into bit size pieces when he accidentally wounded his left pointy finger. He felt the small sting and immediately brought it to his lips, to stop the bleeding. Tsubasa stood up and looked worried but Rei shook his head, letting her know it was nothing. When he noticed that it stopped bleeding, good thing it was a superficial cut, he went back to the egg._

_Tsubasa watched the beautiful man as he cooked the egg. Then she heard a vehicle stopping in front of the house so she instinctively looked where the front door is. She looked back at Rei and he seem to have not noticed it and she was about to mention it when she heard a loud bang, this time, Rei heard it as well as he stopped from tossing the egg by just using the frying pan._

"_What was that?" His question was met with another question. Tsubasa looked confused._

"_I-I don't know. Are you expecting visitors?" Rei looked puzzled and thought for awhile._

"_None...that I know of." Then his cellphone rang. He turned off the induction stove as he reached for it. He looked at the display and saw Shin's name. Tsubasa approached Rei._

"_Is that Goh-san (*)?" Rei shook his head._

"_From Shin." And he picked up the phone after 3 rings._

"_Shin?"_

"_Rei? Thank goodness you are awake already! Listen, Reiga's men are coming down to pick you up. They will also usher Tsubasa to safety. It is important that you leave the house AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I will wait for you here at the lab. Take good care of yourself!" And then the line got cut off. It took Rei a few seconds before he digested the quick phone call. Tsubasa looked worried at Rei._

"_Rei? What was it? What did Shin say to you?" Rei was about to look at her when he heard the front door being opened, rather forcefully. He then looked at the hallway leading to the living room._

_He moved towards the living room with a worried looking Tsubasa following behind. When he looked to his left side where the front door is located, he saw five men in black storm in the house._

_Instinct to fight and defend the house immediately came to him but then he remembered the call earlier._

_Rei looked torn between believing they are Reiga's men or fighting and defend the house._

_Then, all five men looked at him. One of them looked on a clipboard and nods and then pointed to him. The urge to defend himself became so strong as two men approached him. Tsubasa also saw this._

"_Wh-Who are they? Rei?!" Rei looked at the frightened Tsubasa._

"_Run aw-" Then he felt being pulled and his feet floating from air. He then saw the two men in black grabbed each one of his arms and dragged him rather forcefully outside of the house. He tried to stop them but neither man budged, not even an inch._

"_REI!" He heard Tsubasa screamed his name followed by footsteps approaching him but a man in black blocked Tsubasa's advance._

"_L-Let me go!" The man with the clipboard who was standing near the front door spoke._

"_We came here on orders by Reiga-sama. We are to assist Kageyama Rei out of this house for his own safety and bring to the lab ALIVE." The two men stopped in front of him and he revealed a small, black colored sack bag. Rei is not liking what is about to happen next._

"_Wait, what are you doing?! What about Tsubasa?! Stop that!" The man with the small black sack tried to put it on Rei's head but he tries to avoid it as best as he can. The two men carrying him grabbed his head and made it stay in one place._

"_Ayakawa Tsubasa will be accompanied as well but she is not the priority of this mission." Rei is still resisting until the end._

"_You better have this on; you are not prepared to see what is happening outside." And then the cloth was placed on his head, covering his vision._

_All he can hear is there are a lot of gunshot sounds, the sound of strange wailing and bodies falling on the ground and some shuffling, like crawling on the floor or the sound of dragging something. For once, he believed what the other person said._

"_Wha-what is that? Wa-wait, Tsubasa!" He was about to turn back when the steel like grip on his arm just got tighter, to the point that Rei winced at the pain._

"_I already told you, she is not the priority, you are." Rei just looked all the more confused._

"_Priority? No, her first. Don't you know about the general rule: Women and children first?" then he felt the ground texture differed (from soft grain to the solid cement) so he knows he is already at their front gate. And the noises are louder here, making him want to put cover to his ears. He then heard a door opening (probably a vehicle) and he was shoved inside._

"_Oof! Ouch! What the-" he can still feel his legs outside the door but his arms are now free so he tried removing the small black sack out of his head. He was able to successfully remove it and he heaved a huge sigh of relief. He then felt a grip on his leg and he knew it was one of those men who shoved him roughly so he turned his head back to shout at them when he saw what was grabbing his leg._

_An ugly looking creature with its flesh decaying here and there looked at him. Rei's eyes become big with shock._

"_Wha..."_

_The ugly looking creature emitted a groan and Rei could see its blackened teeth, the grip on his leg tighten and he saw it was about to dive, all of its teeth out and he knew what was about to happen._

_His leg was about to be bitten._

_His mind was blank as he tried to process what was the creature when one of the men in black shoved the said creature back strongly with a kick, releasing its hold on Rei's leg in the process. He felt relieved and immediately dragged his legs inside the safety of the vehicle, which he now recognized as one of those armoured vehicles that Reiga owns. Rei was then about to close the door when the man in black who just helped him awhile ago is now being hugged by the same ugly creature. And he could see red on their wall._

"_Uh..." He was stunned as he saw the creature tearing a flesh out of the man's neck as he screams in pain and more blood spluttered on the wall of their house. Another man in black came into view and kicked the creature away. He then looked at a stunned Rei. It was the man with the clipboard, the one who told him he was not ready to see what was outside. That was just a few seconds and then he closed the door shut, awaking Rei out of his shock and he immediately went to the small window by the door._

_From what he can see is another gruesome scene. The man who just closed the door finds himself, specifically his leg, getting bitten by the very same ugly creature. Said man was not screaming, not even panicking. He just looked at the creature a few minutes, letting it eat more of his leg before kicking it hard and slamming his foot hard on the head, ultimately crushing the head to a bloody pulp. He then pulled out a small gun out of his chest, shot the creature on the head for a good measure. The man in black whose neck was bitten is now motionless and he too, was shot in the head. The man with the clipboard then shot himself, his body falling to floor with a loud thud._

_Rei does not know what to do but all the happening has stressed him and he cried. He placed his hands on his mouth, muffling his sobs. He heard a loud bang on the door and when he looked up; he saw another ugly creature, clawing at the window. It showed its teeth at him but he saw it got hit by a gunshot right on the head and it fell down. Then he saw a third man in black came into view, banged on the door three times and Rei felt the vehicle come to life as it lurched forward._

"_Wait...wait! There is some one left there! Tsubasa is still there!" he turned to look at the driver only to see that there is a steel wall between the driver and the passenger, which is him. He banged on it, hoping the driver can hear him._

"_WAIT! You have one of your guys back there! We got to help him! Wait! Stop the car! Tsubasa is still there! STOP THE CAR!" but he just felt the vehicle move forward faster._

"_NO! Stop the car! Please! ...Stop the car..." he then realized that he cannot be heard and he sat down, frustrated. The tears are threatening again._

_And he cried. He covered his face with his hands as he cries his heart out. He could not believe what just happened. He left Tsubasa there. Two men were dead while making sure he got in safely and now they are headed to Kami-sama knows where. This is all too much for him to bear._

"_Anija...Shin..." and he cried himself like there is no tomorrow._

_It has been more than ten minutes and Rei is lying on the seat, depressed. He can feel the ground texture changed from solid cement to a rocky, uneven road. He stares blankly at the steel wall ahead of him._

"_Must be Reiga's compound..." he noted idly._

_He does not care anymore. He was worried about that one man in black that they left behind and he is worried about Tsubasa. _

"_Tsubasa...That man said Tsubasa will be placed in safety as well..."_

_But then he remembered this very same man shot himself after that ugly creature feasted on his leg. Rei's eyebrows furrowed._

"_What were those things? They...look like zombies. Is that why they ate flesh? Why are there zombies in the first place? And in this time and age? What is even going on? ...Does Shin know what happening...?"_

_Rei remembered the phone call he received from his brother a few minutes ago. It sounded like he has an idea as to what is happening. Rei looked confused._

"_Shin, what...is going on? I...I'm scared..." he then bent his knees close to his chest and wrapped his arms around it, like a fetal position inside the womb. He then felt the vehicle stop. But he did not moved, he just heard the door being opened and he felt the cold air. Then he heard the voice he has wanted to hear._

"_Rei?" he stirred, he did not know he was crying until he felt a fresh track of tears. He wiped it off as he climbed off the vehicle. He then shivered because of the ridiculous cold air surrounding what he thinks a huge parking lot in a basement setting. He saw Shin holding some kind of coat with Goh and Gai beside him._

_He walked slowly; he felt himself unsteady with the emotions he is feeling right now. He saw Shin running towards him with a worried look on his face, followed by his equally worried brother Goh and a confused looking Gai. He wanted to run into Shin's comforting arms but he felt all of his energy got sapped from all the events._

"_Shin..." Rei said weakly._

_Shin is already just a few feet away. Shin's welcoming presence and worried but warm expression did it for him: his frightening experience, his worry for Tsubasa's safety, the feeling of not knowing what is even happening, all of it he let them all out through his tears. He broke down and embraced Shin._

"_Shin!" and he cried his heart out for the second time. Shin wordlessly returned the embraced and held him tighter. After a few seconds, Rei felt a warm cloth being draped on his shoulders. And another set of hands strokes his back for comfort._

"_Rei...w-what happened? Why are you crying? Did someone hurt you?" His tears somehow stopped. It seems that he has relieved himself of all those stress he got in one day. He saw a handkerchief being offered to him by Gai._

"_T-thanks..." and he used it to clear his nose. He has to get a hold of himself. His brothers looked at him with worried looks. This cannot go on forever._

_He felt Shin's hand as he caressed Rei's hair while he felt Goh's strong but warm hand on his shoulder. Then he, or rather they, all heard a loud noise above and he looked towards the ceiling. He could see some dust falling but the structure seems to be holding good._

_He then heard a door being opened behind him and Gai called out._

"_Reiga!" Said man approached them and he slowly let go of Shin. Shin looked at him, still worried. He gave a small nod._

"_I'm feeling better now, Shin. Thanks. Thank you Anija." Goh nodded back._

"_Good. Don't push yourself too much." He then removed his hands on Rei's shoulder._

"_Hey, good thing you are all safe. Let us get inside. It is not safe here." Shin nodded and led the way and they all followed him._

_They entered an elevator big enough to hold at least 50 people. It has two overlapping doors, the first one is a transparent colored black tempered glass and the second door is a strong looking steel door. They boarded the elevator and Reiga took out a weird looking key and inserted it to the side panel where the floor numbers are found. Instead of punching in a floor, he inserted the cylindrical key to a slot below those buttons and a square cover open and slid downwards. Rei saw a small lever and Reiga pushed this down and the elevator started moving down._

_There are still questions in Rei's mind that he needs answers but he felt that this is not the time for that. Also, he remembered Tsubasa again and he closed his fist in worry. Shin saw this and he pried that fist open and held his hands. Rei was touched at this gesture._

"_Shin..." he was about to cry again when Goh pinched his nose. He was shocked at the sudden gesture and looked at Goh, who was smirking. He knew Rei does not like that gesture._

"_Got you." He pouted and that only made Goh's smirk widen. Gai was busy watching the elevator go down as he watches the other side of the elevator. The back portion is transparent and you could see a huge cylindrical-type of hole leading all the way down. In every floor, activity can be seen: people in white suit run here and there, carrying boxes while important looking people being ushered to some sort of rooms._

"_Anija...you meanie." Goh shrug._

"_I don't know what you are talking about." This earned a small chuckle from Shin. Reiga is looking at them, smiling as well._

_He felt all the tension go away and now felt more relaxed. Shin noticed this._

"_Much better now?" Rei nodded._

"_Yes. Thanks...erhm, Anija." He still pouts at Goh's smirk._

"_Anytime." Rei felt this is the best time to ask his questions._

"_Uhm, Reiga." Reiga turned his head towards him._

"_Uhm, your men told me that they will get Tsubasa to safety. Does he mean...here?" Reiga nodded and looked at the elevator door._

"_Yes, we made sure that everyone that is close to you are also here. Tsubasa-san, Tamami-san and Yuki-san. We also allocated a space for their families. So, you don't have to worry too much." A huge weigh has been lifted as he heard this. From what it looks like, Goh is also relieved to hear those words._

_Second question that has been bugging him._

"_Reiga, do you know those...creatures? What are they?" Goh looked serious when he heard this. Apparently, he is not the only one who has this question._

"_They, according to the short study we made, appear to be undead. You can call them 'zombies'." Rei's hunch was confirmed. He looked confused._

"_Why would there be zombies at this time and age?" Goh was the one who asked. Reiga answered, his back still on them._

"_It appears that someone may have sent a virus and spread it outside. We still do not know yet if this is true so we are trying to get a sample and study it up close." Rei looked very surprised._

"_A...virus? You mean...they are humans?" Goh does not like the sound of it. Reiga finally faced them, his face serious and looked grim._

"_Yes. They were once humans. But after being infected, they are turned to zombies." _

"_And you get infected by being bitten...is that right?" Reiga nodded._

"_Yes." _

"_So being hit in the head kills them?" Reiga nodded again._

"_Yes, apparently, they stopped being reanimated again once they were hit in the head with just about anything, as long as the brain is crushed or rendered useless." _

_Rei immediately remembered the scene earlier at the house. When the man in black shot his dead comrade in the head and himself._

"_...if he did not do that, he knew he will become one of them." He looked horrified at this conclusion. Shin did not understand what he meant._

"_What was it, Rei?" Rei looked at him._

"_The men who came to get me at our house. One was bitten in the neck and the other got bitten on his leg. He...he shot the first one in the head and also...hi-himself." His hand held Shin's hand tighter._

"_Oh, Rei..." he stopped Shin._

"_I-I'm okay. H-How did they know about it?"He was pertaining to Reiga's men._

"_We noticed the incident since this morning, around 6:40am. I believe Goh-san was already out of the house by then and Gai-kun (*) is already at the school. Shin and Rei-san were the only ones left in the house. I was at the lab when one of my men noticed a weird activity on the subway station in Tokyo. We immediately noticed of what appears to be an undead was feasting on a human..." he noticed that Rei turned green._

"_Oh, uhm, sorry. Sorry for using that word." Rei shook his head._

"_It's okay. Please go on. What happened?" Reiga nodded. He thought for awhile, thinking on what to say next and the choice of his words._

"_So there was a huge commotion about the undead and we had the security camera locked on him. That was when I called Shin and told him to come here quick." Shin nodded and continued._

"_It was around 7am and I just got back home from buying the groceries and was just placing them on the counter top when I answered the call. I forgot to place them on their proper places in my haste." Rei did remember that he had to do it. Now it explains why._

"_When I arrived here, all the men were being assembled and were being dispatched all over the place. Reiga showed me the footage at the Tokyo Station and was confused as to what was happening. But after awhile, I noticed that the recently bitten person would be motionless and after 1 minute and 30 seconds, they are reanimated and became like those who bit them."_

"_That fast huh?" Goh commented. Reiga nodded._

"_Yes. So I deemed that we had to start the Operation and called Shin here." There was something bothering Rei. Something that does not fit right._

"_If it happened at around 7am, why was I contacted at around 9am?"_

"_Ah, that was my fault. I'm sorry, please don't blame Shin here." Reiga said. Rei wants answers._

"_It is because we had Shin fixing the machines. I know he already said it the first time he saw the incident and requested me to get the three of you. I remembered calling Goh but then a problem occurred so it took me awhile before Shin asked me again if I was able to get all of you. That was when I remembered that I have not contacted you yet." He looked embarrassed as he scratched his head. Shin only sighed softly._

"_Really Reiga, you have no idea how worried and panicked I was when I heard you had not called Rei. So I apologized if I did not say anything over the phone back then Rei." Rei shook his head._

"_Nah, it's okay. The important thing is I got the message on time." Shin smiled._

"_True." Rei smiled back and shared this look for a moment and they both chuckled. Reiga and Goh just looked at them, stunned._

"_Do...they always do that?" Goh just shrug._

"_Yeah. I don't know how they do it though." Reiga nodded, accepting the explanation, if you could call it an explanation._

"_Must be a brother thing." Goh just nodded. He then remembered something._

"_So, if this is caused by a virus. Who spread it? And where did that came from? Is this some sort of declaration of war using biological warfare?" Reiga looked at the floor, looking grim again._

"_We still have no idea where, who and why it was spread to the populace. We are also considering the fact that, yes, it may be an act of declaring war. Or simply an experiment." Goh was shocked at this answer. Shin and Rei looked startled as well._

"_Ex...periment? By whom? What kind of human who would do such a thing?!" Rei was not believing this. Someone actually staged this 'zombie attack'? And was doing it for...experiment? For...fun? He was sickened at this thought. Shin was silent. Reiga noticed that the three brothers were very much shocked about what he said so he tried to distract the depressing thoughts._

"_Hey, hey! Like I said, we are considering A LOT of factors here. It could be anything! We have to prove it first but it is highly unlikely it is an experiment, it was just my wild imagination running amok." Rei is still not convinced._

"_How...could you say that?" Reiga smiled when he explained._

"_First, how would you create a virus that will make a perfectly healthy human turn into a flesh eating zombie? Even in this time and era, we are nowhere near even creating a prototype, not that we have any inclination of doing so." Shin considered this._

"_So, when you said it is a virus is still a theory?" Reiga nodded._

"_That is right. So, just in case you are still wondering why we are all here is because we, kind of, prepared for this situation. Not for this event, for something else, like nuclear attack or World War III, that kind of preparation. And I could say with great confidence that this is the safest place on Earth right now. We have infinite supply of healthy food, clean water, and tight security; name it and we have it!"Goh smiled._

"_You sounded like you are trying to sell us something." Reiga laughed and scratched his head._

"_Haha! You noticed?" Goh laughed as well. Rei then whispered to Shin._

"_Are we going to finally use Project Shiva (*)..." Rei stole a quick look on an oblivious Gai._

"_Does...Gai already know?" Shin shook his head._

"_Not yet. Don't worry; let me take care of it."_

_They finally reached the ground and they all left the elevator. They met Keigo, Reiga's twin brother._

_Rei looked at the new surroundings: they are in a very spacious circular room. In front of them, he could see four doors each with some sort of metal plates above it. Rei saw Goh pet Gai's hair and the smaller of the two angrily shove it away. Shin went ahead and they followed him._

_Shin started talking to Keigo while Rei observed the area. He noticed that there are people in white nuclear suit walking here and there as well, carrying boxes and some machinery equipments inside the rooms. Done examining the area when Rei noticed Goh approaching Shin, the older looking slightly confused._

"_I will explain later. Let us go inside." Shin said and he followed._

_Rei had to hold on the coat hanging by his shoulder tighter when he felt the cold wind. They entered a room with, curiously named after Gai and they are met with an extremely cold air. Gai started saying something about his expectations while Rei and Goh remain silent. _

_When they entered the small circular room, Gai and Keigo were discussing the tube in the middle of the room. Rei and Goh stood a few feet away from it. Then, the explosion Rei has feared happened._

"_What? ME?!" Rei has never seen Gai explode before and seeing Rei worried did not help calm Gai's temper. The blonde young man then looked at Goh._

"_You knew about this, didn't you?" Goh did not answer._

"_You knew but you did not tell me?! Why? 'Coz you think I'm stupid or something?!" Rei could not stand it any longer so he started to approach the small blonde when Shin beat him to it._

"_He knew but I was the one who asked him to keep silent about it." Gai has this shocked look on his face. Keigo and Reiga were silent._

"_Say...WHAT?!" Shin has this look that he knows what he is doing so Rei relaxed._

"_You are not the only one. We all are undergoing this. This project was meant to protect the future generation. All of those things above will be swiped clean while selected humans stay here, away from any danger of being exposed. Once the above ground is once more suitable to live in, you will be awakened and once more live above ground and rebuild civilization."_

_Gai was silent. Shin then continued._

"_I would like for all of you to be there when that happens. I want all of you to be there and rebuild civilization back to normal." Rei did not like what he just heard._

_When Shin and Gai are still talking, Rei approached Reiga._

"_Reiga..." Reiga turned to look at him._

"_Rei. What is it?" Rei looked quickly at Shin and Gai before continuing._

"_Shin does not have any intention of taking part in this project, does he?" Reiga blinked once._

"_You mean to undergo cryo-sleep?" Rei nodded. Reiga shook his head._

"_No, I don't think so. If he does, then, we will force him to do it." Keigo butt in, overhearing their conversation._

"_Don't worry Rei, Ayumi-san and the both of us will not allow whatever Shin has in mind. He will undergo cryo-sleep by hook or by crook!" That put Rei at ease._

"_Thank you!"Rei smiled._

_They then felt the building shook again slightly. Reiga then approached Shin, looking serious._

"_Shin, we do not have time..." Rei saw Shin nod and hugged Gai one more time before approaching the huge tube in the middle of the room. While Goh and Gai talk, Rei checked the tube. It has a transparent tempered glass while the sides and the back are made of metal. The glass looked colored blue while the metal is painted white. When he heard Goh finished, he then looked straight in Gai's teary eyes._

"_Trust Shin." The young blonde nodded._

"_I do. Always and will be." He watched as Gai entered the tube and looking at it with curiousity / fear. Rei looked at Shin and the older nodded, assuring him that everything will be fine._

_Keigo and Reiga were talking to Gai and Rei took this opportunity to talk to Goh._

"_Anija, I have a feeling that Shin does not want to undergo this process. I think he wants to be the one to protect us while we are sleeping." Goh nodded._

"_I know. I won't let that happen." Rei sighed a relief._

"_Thank you. Because I think I will be the next one he puts in there and I would not know what he will do next." Goh looked at him._

"_Don't worry Rei, Shin will join us." Rei gave a small smile._

"_Thank you." They then approached their youngest brother. Seeing he is anxious, Goh teased him. Not wanting to be left behind, Rei followed._

"_You look more handsome already." That got a quick response from the easy-to-tease Gai._

_Shin gave his last words when Gai was finally put to sleep. When the confirmation that Gai was successfully placed on a cryo-sleep, Shin ushered them to go to a different room._

"_Let's go." And instead of going back from where they entered, he went to the side were a non visable door opened leading to another small hallway. They followed and emerge on another circular room with another huge tube in the middle. Rei noticed that everything is exactly the same with Gai's room._

"_Whose room would this be?" Keigo answered._

"_This will be yours, Rei-san." Rei just looked at Goh, as if telling him 'i-told-you-so' look. Goh just nodded. Shin approached the machine as he make final adjustments. Rei looked at Keigo and Reiga._

"_Promise me..." and Rei stared at Shin's back and then back to the twins. They both nodded._

"_Don't worry." Rei nodded and approached the tube, waiting for it to open. Shin approached him from behind and held his hand._

"_Rei..." Rei looked at him and they just stared at each other for awhile. Keigo nudged Reiga who was busy inputting the commands to a machine._

"_They are doing it again..." Reiga took a quick look and went back to what he was doing._

"_Yeah, I just saw that awhile ago." Keigo tilted his head slightly sideways._

"_How do they communicate when they are not even twins?" Reiga answered without looking._

"_There are some things that even science cannot even explain. Brotherhood is a strong feeling, especially in their case. Keigo, start the machine." Keigo nodded._

"_Oh, alright." The tube is now ready. Rei boarded and just like Gai, made himself comfortable._

"_It's...kinda cramped here." Shin looked embarrassed as he scratched his cheek._

"_Yes, sorry. With all the cryo compounds needed, it needed a rather huge space and I do not want it to look like too big so...sorry." Rei softly shook his head._

"_Nah, no need for apologies." He then noticed the coat he had on his shoulder._

"_Oh, before I forgot. I don't think I need this. Here." He gave it to Goh who took it. Their hands touched. Goh looked worried all of a sudden._

"_Did you injure yourself, Rei?" Rei looked confused._

"_Huh?" Goh pointed to his left hand._

"_I felt a small cut on your pointy finger. You okay?" Rei looked at it and remembered where he got it._

"_Oh, oh yeah. I'm fine. I was cooking breakfast for Tsuba..." He then looked worriedly at Shin._

"_She is in here, somewhere, right?" Shin nodded._

"_Yes, she is. Do not worry." Rei then nodded._

"_Okay, glad to hear that. Thanks Shin. Thanks Anija." They both nodded. He heard Keigo shout a question._

"_Ready, Rei-san?" Rei nodded. Shin answered for him._

"_He is ready Keigo." Keigo nodded._

"_Alright, let us start!" Rei looked at his two brothers one last time and gave a smile._

"_Oyasumi (*)." Goh placed a hand on Shin's shoulder and they both smiled._

"_Oyasumi nasai." The glass then closed and Rei felt the machine moved to a horizontal position. He saw the ceiling and saw some dust falling._

"_This must be the same thing Gai saw huh..." he then saw a white smoke inside the tube and felt himself sleepy._

"_This...must be...it..." his eyes then finally closed._

* * *

TBC

* * *

Definition:

Mou – a Japanese expression; used as a way of expressing a sslight disapproval about something.

Akanbe – a childish facial gesture. It's made by pulling down one lower eyelid to show the red of the eye while sticking out your tongue.

-san – is an honorific used by Japanese to show respect. This one is equivalent to a Mr. or Ms. in English.

-kun – another honorific used for those who are younger than the speaker.

Shiva – a summon/esper found in almost all Final Fantasy series. She possesses ice power, hence, the name.

Oyasumi nasai – a Japanese word meaning 'good night' or 'sleep tight'.

Final Notes:

In case you are wondering, Tsubasa's last name was taken from a real life person, a cosplayer actually who goes by the name of Ayakawa Yunmao. ^^


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note:** I do not own Saint Beast. Credits go to the original creator.

**Characters:** sneaky Rei, reluctant Gai, Goh, Shin, Yuda, Luca and Takeru

**Additional notes:** Again, I am sorry for the late update. I had a new rest day (unfortunately for me, it is no longer a Saturday/Sunday rest day) so I am finding and trying to adapt to this change. It won't happen again...really sorry...

m(_ _)m

===== IF YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL **(*), **THE DEFINITION IS ON THE BOTTOM PART OF THIS PAGE =====

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Rei poke his head from the metallic door and looked from left to right. Seeing that the corridor is clear, he stealthily moved quickly to the next door followed by a reluctant Gai.

Rei stopped by the window and tried to see inside. Gai just gave a sigh, his hands on the back of his head.

"Pray tell me oh big brother of mine, why are we doing this again?" this earned a soft smack on his blonde head. He looked angrily to an equally angry Rei.

"Were you not even listening to me awhile ago?!" Gai pouted.

"Sheesh, Rei. You were talking to me when I was still in dreamland yah know?! How the hell am I suppose to understand something when your mind is not even there?!" Rei looked dead panned as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"So in short...you were not listening." Gai just pouted and looked the other way.

[Darn, Rei! I SO hate you!]

Rei just rolled his eyes and looked back at the window were he is peering at awhile ago. While he tries to open the door, Gai tries his hardest to remember what happened earlier.

_He was awaken from his deep but very comfortable sleep with a (rather strong) slap on his cheeks._

"_OUCH! What the-" and he felt his left ear being pinched. There is only one person in the whole wide world that would do this to him._

"_Ow ow ow ow! REI!" Rei released his painful hold on his ear and has the satisfied but demonic face on him._

"_Good, you awake now?" He is sooooo mad, his fist is shaking. And then Mt. Fuji (*) exploded._

"_AWAKE? YOU SLAPPING ME ON MAH FACE AND PINCHING MY EAR TILL IT TEARS OFF AND ALL YOU COULD ASK IS IF I AM AWAKE?! YOU BET YOUR BUTTONS I'M AWAKE AND THIS BETTER BE GOOD OR I-" and the rest of his epic speech was cut off by a dead pan looking Rei stuffing pillow on his face._

_He does not deserve any of this maltreatment._

_[GOH!]_

"_Be quiet or they might hear us!" Satisfied that he douse Gai's anger (somewhat), he walked to the door and tried to check the outside._

"_What the hell are you talking about?" Instead of answering, Rei left the door and stared at Gai, which he found...weird._

_[Oh no, Rei and his mood swings...HELP ME GOH!]_

"_You know where Anija and Shin is, right?" Gai blinked once._

"_Yeah..." Rei nodded._

"_Good. I want you to take me to them. From here, do we go left or right?" Gai tries to remember the earlier field trip._

_[Hmmm...]_

"_Take left." Rei nodded._

"_Alright. Here's the plan: we go to Anija and get him and bring him to Shin's room and wait for him to wake up. From then, we will get Anija and Shin's advice and go from there, okay?" and all he got as a response is a yawning Gai. Rei just sigh._

_[Of all the people that first awaken is him...oh Shin! Please wake up!]_

_He then approached the door to escape._

By the time he looked to where Rei was, he was gone. He was the only one standing in the corridor, looking stupid while he is at it. He noticed the door to Goh has just closed, indicating that someone just went in.

"Hey! Wait up Rei!" he then went inside the room as well.

When Gai finally entered the room, he saw Rei caressing Goh's forehead and looked worried. The machines beside him were beeping in a calm manner. Gai approached the bed as well.

"Goh...is still sleeping." Rei did a solemn nod.

"Yeah..." Rei continued to caress Goh's forehead as if asking the eldest to open his eyes. Gai placed his chin on the bed rail while his left hand pokes Goh's cheek.

"When do you think he will be awake?" Rei took of his hands from Goh's forehead and looked around the room.

"I don't know. Maybe now, maybe later. Not sure." Gai pouted.

"Gee, thanks for the ans-" Rei was poking around the room. He noticed that his older brother's things were in the room: his motorcycle helmet, his blue qipao, and his motorcycle gloves.

[Oh wow, they have these things too? Hmmm, I wonder if they had mine as well...]

"REI!" Noticing that Gai shouted in a panic voiced, he immediately looked at where the blonde is, to see if he is in any danger when he saw what he was looking at.

Goh has his eyes open.

"ANIJA!" Goh looked to the right, saw Gai and to his left is a rushing Rei.

"Rei...? Gai?" Gai hugged Goh's neck while Rei held Goh's left hand.

"Anija! You are awake! Thank you Kami-sama!" he sobbed his thanks. Gai was bawling.

"Goh! You have no idea how happy I am!" Goh looked worried and troubled at the same time.

"H-Hey! L-let go, I can't breathe!" He tried to pry Gai off of his neck with his other hand. Rei let go of Goh's left hand.

"Hey...you can talk?" Goh just looked at him as if he has grown another head.

"What kind of question is that?" He was finally able to successfully pried Gai off who is now sniffing and rubbing his eyes. The question caught Gai's attention too.

"Oh yeah! You can talk!" Goh now looks at the two of them with incredulous eyes.

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Rei answered.

"Because, you see, when we woke up not long ago..." Gai is nodding his head. "We could not talk. They said that it will take awhile." Gai then pointed an accusing finger at Goh.

"But you! You just up and talk! That is so unfair!" he got a playful smack on the face courtesy of Goh. Goh then take a look around his room. He then looked at Rei.

"Where is Shin?" Gai perked up at this question.

"Oh! I know where he is! Follow me!" he was running towards the door when he remembered something.

[Oh! Goh might not be able to walk!]

And he turned around just to see a tall, standing Goh with no assistance whatsoever and is adjusting his hospital gown. Rei also has the same shocked face as he has. Goh looked at them.

"What?" Rei softly shook his head.

"Nothing..." and he gave a soft sigh before joining Gai to the door. Gai stood for a little longer, his arms crossed against his chest.

"THIS is soooooooooooooo unfair!" and he angrily marched outside, leaving a dumbfounded Goh.

"What? What did I do?"

This time, Gai poke his head and checked the area if it's cleared. Seeing no one is in the corridor, he gestured for Rei and Goh to follow him. He tiptoed his way to Shin which Rei finds annoying but he followed nonetheless. Wearing his hospital gown, Goh followed slowly but he stopped just right outside his door and looked to the right side. Rei noticed that his older brother had stopped walking and looked back at him.

"Anija? What is it?" It was as if Goh is looking at _something_ but all Rei could see is a vast, empty corridor. Goh's eyes looked serious but then he turned towards Rei.

"It's...nothing." He slightly pushed Rei towards Gai's direction and smiled. "Let's go." Rei looked unsure.

"O-okay." And Rei looked one last time on the empty corridor and reluctantly followed Goh's prodding.

Saki was sweating under the helmet as he stands still on the corridor just outside Goh's room. He was wearing one of the military issued protective suit and is under Stealth Mode. He did this when he was told that Goh has awakened but his two brothers are acting suspiciously. So as to not arouse any more suspicion, he decided to approach the humans undetected.

Well, the undetected part does not seem to entirely work. Goh seemed to have noticed him as if he is walking in broad daylight. He heard the intercom of his suit buzzed, signalling an incoming transmission.

"Saki." Saki just watched the brothers go towards Shin's room.

"Commander Yuda?"

"Do not approach Kageyama Goh or the brothers. He can sense your presence. We do not want to make them feel tense. Come here at the bridge instead." Saki gulped.

[So he did notice me...how did he do that...?]

"I do not know but since they are all learned in martial arts, different the practice it may be, but still, they are skilled, especially Kageyama Goh. Lay low for now. Report here." Saki reluctantly nodded.

"Y-Yes, Commander."

"Here we are!" And Gai entered the room, excited. Goh stopped just outside and once again looked to his left side, the way were he previously was staring at. Rei looked at him then the corridor then back to Goh.

"Is he gone?" Goh slowly nodded.

"Yes." Rei sigh a breath of relief.

"Good." He grabbed Goh's arm and the older of the two looked at him, questioning.

"Let's see Shin, Anija!" Goh smiled and nodded and entered the room. Inside the room, they immediately saw Shin's personal belongings on the other side of the room: his black qipao, his lab coat and some books. Both brothers just glanced at it briefly and stared at the sleeping man on the bed with Gai checking the books. Rei immediately approached Shin.

"Shin!" he then caressed Shin's face and tried holding back his tears.

"Shin! Please...wake up..." He then tenderly held Shin's hands as he checked Shin's body, looking for any signs of distress and making sure he is comfortable. Goh then approached the other side of Shin's bed and gazed at his sleeping face.

"Hey...how long are you going to make me wait, huh, Shin?" he then brushed a fringe sideways and he kissed Shin's forehead.

"Tadaima (*)" He then felt a slight push from behind and saw a pouting Gai with his arms cross against his chest.

"Mou, Goh! What the hell are you doing to Shin?!" In response, he got his hair ruffled single handedly by Goh.

"Waking up Shin, what else?" Gai angrily swatted Goh's arm away.

"What kind of waking up is that?!" and now, Goh is pinching Gai's cheek and forcing him to smile wide.

"Nrjewpjsfjsldfsdfijsoefjzsldjzlfdslef!" While he is doing that, he asked Rei a question.

"Hey, Rei. Have you seen the owners of this hospital?" Rei remembered the encounter earlier and nodded softly.

"Yes...and this is not a hospital. It's an aircraft...so they said." Goh looked at a silent Rei. He stopped and Gai decided that was the best time to stay away from Goh and moved towards where Shin's belongings is and is nursing an abused cheek.

"What's wrong?" Rei looked like he is thinking how to voice out his thoughts.

"They said...they are different from us. They can read minds and he said it is not ESP." Goh's eyebrow furrowed.

"Not ESP? Then, what then?" Rei shook his head.

"I do not know...I then thought that they are aliens..." Goh suddenly looked at Shin, sleeping soundly.

"What do they look like?" Rei slightly tilted his head sideways.

"Just like us: they have hair like us, skin color like ours, they speak our language, they even have the same accent as we have, and they have different eyes though...and extremely good looking, like supermodels, almost perfect features. So far, all personnel I have seen are all men, I have yet to see a female. And they are all unusually tall. Two of them are taller than you, the ones they call Commander...probably around 190cm or more..." Goh looked thoughtful.

"I see. Commander huh, so..." he looked at his surroundings. "...we are on an aircraft." Rei nodded.

"Did they tell how long have we been sleeping?" Rei looked troubled.

"No...well, I forgot to ask. I'm sorry." Goh shook his head.

"No worries. I believe they will tell us in awhile..." he then noticed a pale Gai just standing in front of him.

"What?" Gai then slowly pointed towards the other side of the room.

"W-we..." his hand is shaking. Goh placed his hands on the smaller boy's shoulder.

"What is it?" Rei also approached, looking worried.

"We..." Gai gulped. "...we are in s-space." Goh blinked once.

"What?" Rei shared the same lost look.

"What do you mean?" Gai ran away from Goh and opened Shin's curtain wide.

"I mean THIS!" Rei's jaw dropped.

"Good heavens...!" he also approached the window and stared at the scene before him.

It is all black filled with stars, some white and some colored. They can see a comet pass by them. Something that they only see when they are inside a Planetarium. The universe. Rei looked horrified.

"T-They...they are aliens! We have been abducted!" He then turned to a silent Goh.

"Anija! What are we going to do?! They are going to experiment on us!" Gai looked scared.

"NO WAY! Maya will never do that!" Rei angrily looked at him.

"Maybe he won't but what about the others with him? What if he is a trap set up for us to lower down our guards?!" Gai could not believe what Rei is saying.

"Maya is NOT that kind of person!" Rei was about to retort something back when Goh interrupted.

"Quiet you two!" They both stopped and looked at Goh. He looked serious. He then held Shin's hand and stared at it as he talks to the two.

"If they are going to experiment on us, they should have done that when we were still sleeping. And if we are prisoners, they would not be letting us on our own, much less let each of us contact each other like this. Rei, I know you are being cautious and I know you have every reason to not trust this people but let us give them a benefit of the doubt. Besides, he may be a trouble maker but I trust Gai in terms of judging people." Gai blushed but tried hard to pretend he is mad.

"I'm not a trouble maker...stop making up things, Goh." Goh just smiled.

"Right...so relax, Rei. I won't let any harm befall any of you." Rei smiled warmly.

"I know. That is why I feel so much safer now that you are awake." Gai huffed.

"What is that suppose to mean?!" Rei looked down on Gai.

"It means what it means." Gai pouted.

"Che. Your just jealous that Goh praised me and not you." Rei rolled his eyes.

"Oh please!" And another round of banter started. Tuning them out, Goh glanced at Shin only to see him awake.

"Oh, Shin. Glad to see you are awake." Said man blinked once and looked at the speaker.

"Goh?" Rei and Gai immediately rushed to Shin's bed.

"SHIN!" they said in unison and both glomped a startled and bewildered Shin.

"Woah! Wha-" Goh just shrugged.

"Well, feel the love. Mine will be later... 3" and he winked at Shin.

"Phew! Thank goodness you both have calmed down..." Shin was sighing as he pets a still crying Gai and a sniffing Rei on his lap.

"W-We're just... *sniff*" Rei started. "...really glad you are awake." And Gai finished the sentence. Shin smiled warmly.

"Thank you. Likewise." He looked at Goh. Goh coughed and blushed slightly.

"You were sleeping earlier so you might not have heard but..." Shin tilted his head slightly sideways.

"Tadaima." Shin smiled affectionately at this and he held his hand to Goh.

"Okairi (*)" Goh smiled back and held Shin's outstretch hand and kissed it. Gai saw this and tried swatting his arm but failed. Gai looked annoyed.

"Mou, Goh! Stop that!" he tried again and failed yet again. Rei has calmed down and is wiping a tear from his eye when he heard the door open and suddenly stood, on guard. Goh heard it as well so he let go of Shin's hand and slid closer to him, standing between Shin and the visitor. Gai is on top of Shin's lap and was looking at the door as well, so is Shin.

A tall, red haired man emerged followed by an equally tall silver-white haired man and a third tall man with black haired was the last to follow. They all bowed and Yuda gazed on Shin's profile.

"My apologies for barging in like this." Gai shook his head.

"Nah, its okay, Yuda-san." The red haired smiled and continued.

"I have already introduced myself to some of you so this is for Goh and Shin's sake. My name is Yuda and I am the Commander of this aircraft." He gestured to his left. "This is my friend and fellow Commander, Luca and beside him is our resident doctor, Takeru." Said man bowed.

"We just want to let you know, first of all, that we do not mean any harm, so please, be at ease." Luca said in his most soothing manner. Rei flinched and sidled closer to Goh.

"And we would like to clear any confusion, question or clarification you may have to avoid any ill feelings between us. We would like to explain everything, if you do not mind." Takeru said and he is pertaining to Shin's recent stirring back to life. Shin shook his head.

"Please, do not mind me. We would like to be informed of the situation, if you would be so kind to enlighten us." Takeru smiled.

[Ahhh...so courteous...I like him already!]

"As you wish then. Commander." Yuda has been staring at Shin and then nodded.

"Very well. This will be...how do you say it? Long? So, if you would, please take a seat where you are most comfortable with." Gai just sat beside Shin on the bed while Goh take the other side. Rei took a seat near Goh. The eldest checked if everyone has settled.

"This would do fine." Goh said. Yuda nodded.

"Very well. Let us start from the beginning."

* * *

TBC

* * *

Please review! Thanks for all your support! ^^

Definition:

Mount Fuji – an iconic symbol of Japan. One of the most active volcanoes in Japan

Tadaima – a Japanese expression where one says when he already got home; roughly translates to "I'm home"

Okairi – another Japanese expression used as an answer to Tadaima; translates to "Welcome home"


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note:** I do not own Saint Beast. Credits go to the original creator.

**Characters:** story teller Luca, assistant to the story teller Yuda, spectator Takeru and the four listeners (Goh, Shin, Rei and Gai) ^^;

**Additional notes:** The history here is made up by yours truly so do not believe it. Just saying. ^^

A word of advice – this chapter is full of drama (yeah, we need drama to spice things up) and is lengthy...that said...ON TO THE SHOW!

* * *

"We are from a faraway planet. A planet, billions of light years away from your galaxy, the Milky Way." Yuda started. Gai's eyes become the size of a saucer.

"Woah...how far is billions of light years away?" Yuda smiled.

"Let us just say...you will be around 500 years old and you are only half way there." Gai gasped.

"Seriously?! That far!" He then became serious, as if in deep thought. Rei looked concerned.

"Oh dear, that is far..." Yuda nodded and then suddenly Gai pointed a finger towards the three of them: him, Luca and Takeru.

"Does that mean...you lot are, like, 500 years old or something?!" and he got an answer in a form of a smack on the head courtesy of Goh. Shin was surprise.

"That is not the main concern right now. Details will come later. We are here listening to them, not asking them questions, you hear?!" Gai pouted but he kept quiet. Shin consoled him by rubbing his back tenderly. He then looked at Yuda, who seemed to have been caught off guard by the sudden gesture.

"I'm sorry about that, Gai here is just as curious as a cat can be. Please forgive him." Yuda smiled and shook his head while Luca chuckled.

"Oh, don't worry. We have a certain someone just like him on board as well so we are used to it." And he chuckled again. Takeru gave an all-knowing smile.

At the bridge, Maya sneezed.

"Huh...someone must be talking about me." Shrugging it off as nothing, he continued with his chore.

Yuda then continued.

"We may be billions of light years away but we have our way of navigating the vast universe faster. We use warp holes to go from one planet to the other. We are on an exploration mission to check the planets that we pass by for energy source and send them back to our planet. Earth has been one of our main energy sources so we frequent your planet, even before any of you are born." The humans looked surprised. Yuda smiled.

"I can assure you that all we visit your planet for is the energy that your planet emits. Whatever Hollywood has fabricated is false and no basis. Just a brief history of your people: Back then, there was no civilization in your planet, that was millions of years ago. When the people of your planet started evolving, we decided to help your growth by implanting your DNA with ours. The modern man is based from our appearance. Humans with exceptional abilities are the ones whose DNA has been enhanced by our genes. Anyway, after millions of years, Earth is still one of the best energy sources so we head towards your planet once again. But what we saw is something we never imagined would ever happen." The red haired then looked troubled. Luca continued.

"We saw that your planet has entered a what you call "World War III" and the countries involved launched unprecedented amount of nuclear and biological weapons. Not only did the nuclear war pollute your planet but the energy coming from Earth as well has been affected. This was after you were sent to cryo-sleep so this is unknown to any of you. That facility protected all of you." Yuda nodded.

"Since Earth is no longer a source of energy, we decided to head back. But then, something happened that made us stay." He then grew quiet.

"What...happened?" Rei asked. Yuda was still quiet, as if thinking what to say next. Takeru and Luca looked at him.

"Would you like me to say it to them?" Luca offered. Yuda looked at his long-time friend and shook his head.

"No need. But thanks." Luca nodded. Yuda then looked at the humans, specifically to Shin.

"I started having...visions." Goh looked mildly surprise.

"Visions?" Yuda nodded.

"Yes. And those visions led me to your discovery-" Rei stopped him.

"Sorry but wait one second. Are you saying that an extraterrestrial had visions of us, humans?" Yuda nodded.

"Yes. The vision I had is of Shin." Shin was surprised.

"Me?" Yuda nodded. Takeru chimed in.

"Yes, and believe me, we are just as surprised as well. We find it...interesting. Because we clearly had a different wavelength than you so we were really...astonish with this event. So the only theory I could think of is that for some reason, reasons that we are yet to investigate, Shin's mind sent out a call to us and the one who was able to receive that was our Commander here." The three brothers all looked at Shin. Shin blinked once.

"Eh?" Gai spoke first.

"Wow, Shin. You saved us again." Rei nodded.

"Yeah, not once..." Goh continued.

"...but twice." Shin blushed, due to embarrassment. Yuda was amazed at how beautiful Shin looked as he blush.

"Y-you guys, please stop that! I have no idea about that. Stop staring at me like that." And he blocked Goh's field of vision. Goh just grabbed Shin's hands and placed it on his cheeks instead.

"We'll 'torment' you about this later." Before Shin could even retort, Goh looked back at Yuda who was watching the exchange carefully.

"So, where are the others?" Luca looked unsure of the question.

"Others?" Goh answered.

"Yes, the others. We were not the only ones in that facility. So where are they?" Gai and Rei looked gloomy. Goh noticed the sudden change of mood, as well as Shin.

"What? What happened to the others?" He then looked at the red haired.

"Are we..." he gulped. "Are we the only one that was saved?" Luca nodded solemnly.

"...Yes. There were no other humans alive when we arrived." Goh and Shin were silent.

[Just...us? What happened to Yuki then?]

[Why...?]

Gai looks as if he was about to cry. Shaking his head violently, he faced Luca.

"So, when Reiga said that he will get Tamami and Tsubasa-san and Yuki-neesan...he lied to us?!" The tension in the room is palpable. Takeru looked worried.

[His stress level is going nuts...Commander]

Yuda nodded and was about to calm Gai down when Luca beat him into it.

"No, Reiga did not lie to you. He did send Tamami, Tsubasa and Yuki and their families to the facility." Gai was taken aback. Rei looked confused.

"If they were there...why are they not with us now? What happened to them?" Luca looked at Yuda who nodded. Luca then looked at the humans.

"The words that I am about to tell you are true and I will not hide anything from you. I just want you to brace yourself because it will not be good." Gai looked serious. He gulped and nodded. Rei was silent but he too, nodded. Goh and Shin nodded as well.

"Very well. Please listen to what I have to say..."

* * *

"Reiga was true to his word: he had sent Hazuki Tamami, Ayakawa Tsubasa and Nakagawa Yuki to the same facility where we found you. Along with their families. The CEO of Tochibe Corporation also invited other people to be part of the operation."

"I believe you call it Project Shiva." Shin nodded.

"As scheduled, these people awoke from their cryo-sleep 40 years after 2014." Shin nodded again.

"Yes, because I designed the tubes to automatically awake the person inside after 40 years." Luca nodded.

"That is correct." Gai shyly raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"I don't get it. If we were using the same tube as the others...and that it should have awakened us all at the same time...why didn't we awake the same time as them?"

Rei nodded.

"For once, you asked a good question." Gai was about to retort when Goh stuffed his mouth with a pillow, muffling his protest. Rei then repeated the question.

"Gai is right. Why did we not wake up the same time as the other people?" Shin looked troubled.

"I made sure all tubes are synced with the others...unless..." he then becomes silent. Yuda nodded.

"...Yes, the tubes that were holding your bodies have been re-programmed." Goh looked surprised.

"What? By who?" Shin answered.

"By Reiga...am I correct?" Yuda nodded.

"Yes." Gai looked at Shin, who was silent and in deep thought.

"How did you know it was Reiga?" Shin furrowed his eyebrows.

"Because...he was the only one who knew how to reprogram it. I taught him how. But why would..." Shin looked frustrated, as if he cannot comprehend why do such an act. Goh then asked that question for him.

"Why would Reiga do that?" Luca shook his head.

"The reason he did such thing eludes me. The only thing I found out on my reading is that it had something to do with their father." Something in that statement caught Rei's attention.

"Reading?" Luca nodded.

"Yes. Aside from having telepathy as our common ability, each one of us was bestowed with unique powers. I believe you call that 'individuality'. From objects, I can see what happened. It is like I am witnessing what they had seen at that time." Rei nodded his understanding of the explanation.

"I see..." Gai looked impatient.

"I thought questions are not allowed?! Why was Rei allowed?! Whatever! It's always unfair anyway. So, what about Reiga's old man and what really happened?!" He said that all in one breathing and he is now huffing, surprising his brothers. Yuda looked amused. Takeru looked confused.

"Reiga's...old man?" Yuda explained.

"That is another term for father." Takeru looked he had a 'eureka' moment.

"Ah! I see." Rei faced Luca.

"Commander Luca, if you would be so kind to continue." Luca nodded.

"The next happenings may upset you. So please, keep an open mind and I would like to say it again, brace yourself. It is not a happy ending." The four humans all nodded solemnly.

Luca paused.

"40 years after 2014, the people inside the facility have awakened from their cryogenic sleep. One by one, the occupants were roused and they slowly get their bearings once again. When Reiga and Keigo are well enough to walk, they went down to check on the four of you. As Shin mentioned, Reiga override the program on your tubes so that you will be awaken after 50 years. I have tried to read all of the objects in that facility but none reveal his reason for doing so. When they reached the area where the four of you were safely sleeping, they were greeted their by their father, Tochibe Gendo."

Gai leaned his head forward to hear better.

"Their father asked why were the four of you still sleeping. Reiga has this weird look on his face, as if he is hiding something and he did not answer his father and instead, asked why was he there. As they approach their father, they started hearing screams from above, the area were the occupants of the facility were living. They panicked and was about to make their way up when armed people in black blocked their way, weapon at ready. These people refused to let them board the elevator and so the twins asked their father, shock clearly on their faces."

"They started asking their father what was happening above them and why they are not helping. Gendo looked calmed and gestured for his armed soldiers to leave the brothers and stand on his back. Keigo tried to use the elevator but it was not budging. Reiga asked Gendo again. Gendo simply said that there is nothing more they could do to save the people above. Fear was evident on the twins' faces as they realized that their own father had something to do with the screams above. They asked their father to clarify what he meant with that statement."

"Gendo then said that when the occupants started awakening, he specifically ordered his men to give them drinks. Each one of them. Unknown to the people, the drinks were spike."

The humans all had the same look: Horror.

Gai was starting to shake his head.

"No...you don't mean..." Luca looked sad.

"The drinks...they were spike with poison." Rei's mouth opened, as if he was about to utter something, but all he could manage is a choking sound. Gai looked pale all of a sudden.

Goh was heaving and he looked at his lap, trying hard to calm himself down. Shin curled his fist on his blanket, eyes watery.

"W-Why..." He was the only one who managed to utter a word. Luca looked miserable.

"Please, everyone, get a hold of yourself." Gai is not hearing him.

"Tamami...Tsubasa...Yuki-neesan...those people, I saw them. They were alive when we arrived in that facility! I saw them entering their rooms! I saw them carrying those boxes! I saw them walking...talking! ALIVE!" Gai is becoming hysterical.

"Tamami...I will never ever see Tamami...b-because of..." he is now crying and he punched the bed.

"Why?! Why?! WHY?! WHAT WAS THAT ALL FOR THEN?! WHY DID THEY HAVE TO GO THERE, JUST TO DIE A MISERABLE DEATH?! WHY?!" Shin hugged Gai.

"Gai!" The blonde did not stop. He then placed his hands on the side of his head.

"Is it because I knew her? It's because she is my friend...was." Gai lost it.

"Haha. Was. I am now speaking of her in the past tense..." he then started muttering words. Shin looked at Yuda.

"Please! Give him a depressant! Hurry!" Takeru immediately rose to his feet.

"I'm on it." He then quickly left. The two Commanders rose as well, shock and helplessness in their eyes. Rei is trying hard not to sob too loud. Goh was trying to calm him down. Luca approached him when Goh shook his head.

"Can you please leave us for a moment?" Luca was about to say something when Goh cut him off.

"PLEASE." Luca did not push and just nodded and quietly left the room with a silent Yuda following.

* * *

Luca sighed as he left the room.

"It must be still too early. Maybe I should have not said so much." Yuda shook his head. He leaned against the wall just beside the door and crossed his arms against his chest.

"No. We will just have to wait for them to recover. As for the humans, we should not be keeping things from them. They have every right to know what happened. We already warned them of what to expect." They then saw a rushing Takeru who quietly entered the room. From the few seconds the door was opened, they could hear Rei crying and Gai was screaming and crying at the same time. And then silence.

The two of them were quiet.

[Yuda...I'm worried...]

Yuda was silent.

[We just have to believe in them]

[I hope they will recover soon...]

[They will. Humans are known for their resilience. Let us have faith in them]

Luca nodded and worriedly looked on the door. A few seconds after, Takeru emerged. The room is silent now.

"Takeru..." He looked at Luca then at Yuda.

"We'll just wait for now until they try to sort it out."

* * *

"Why..." tears continue strolling down Gai's check as Shin gently lie him on his bed. When Shin made a motion that he will get off the bed, Gai hugged him tightly. Shin returns the hug. He looked at Rei and saw that he has calmed down a bit but the tears are not stopping.

"Goh?" Goh looked at him and nodded.

"Okay here. You?" Shin nodded. Goh sighed. He sat beside a silently crying Rei.

"...likewise." Shin then looked worriedly at a clinging / crying Gai. He then heard a foreign sound, one that is trying hard not to cry. He hugged Gai tighter.

"Anija...it's okay. You are allowed to cry, you know." He then felt Goh's head slumped against his back.

"I'm not...crying." Shin gave an understanding nod.

"Yes, I know. It's just raining outside..." He felt Goh's head nod in agreement.

"Yeah...just raining..." he then felt warm tears wet his hospital gown as he console Gai on his lap. Shin himself is trying hard not to cry.

[Not now...not...now...]

He just gave a deep sigh as he rub Gai's heaving back. He can hear Rei's cry somehow subsiding and he noticed that Gai is no longer crying, just catching his breath from all that crying and screaming awhile ago. Goh stopped as well. The eldest sniffed.

"Sorry about that..." Shin gave a small smile.

"Nah, no need for apologies. It was raining, that's all." Goh sniffed one last time and looked at the ceiling.

"Stupid rain, soaking my beloved Shin wet..." Shin gave a soft chuckle. Gai peered from his hiding place and tried to look at where Goh was supposed to be.

"What the hell are you saying, Goh? Have you gone nuts already?" and he got a pinch on his cheek as retort.

"Ouch! Shin, help!" Shin gently removes Goh's hand on Gai cheek. The blonde in return caress it as it slowly turns into red. Rei stood up and climbed Shin's bed, occupying the other side of the bed, making Gai protest.

"Hey! Get off, I'm here yah know!" Rei ignored Gai and proceeded in removing Gai's hold on Shin's waist and replaced it with his arms. He then gave Gai a dead pan look.

"Stop hogging Shin all for yourself. My turn now." And then hid his head on Shin's lap. Gai has this outrageous look on his face.

"Wha-?!" He then heard two taps and saw Goh sitting were moments ago, Rei was sitting on. He was tapping on the seat beside him.

"Awww, you don't want to sit beside me, Gai?" In one graceful leap of a cat, Gai landed gently beside Goh. He pulled his knees towards his chest and placed his arms around them. Goh patted his hair.

"Good boy." Gai huffed but did not move. Goh just smiled. He then looked at Shin.

"Alright, listen people." The three of them looked at Goh. He stopped petting Gai's head and placed it on the blonde's shoulder instead.

"I know what they told us is very shocking and we have every right to mourn for our lost." His eyes got watery but he continued.

"But we cannot be sad forever. We have to cry, mourn for them, remember them and then moved on. The world will not stop just because we did. It will go on and on as if we were never there. The best we could do for them is to make sure we survive this incident and move forward, towards our future. So, if you are not done crying, cry your heart out now and be done with it. We need to let them finish the story and then we will know how we will move forward. Do you hear me?" Shin nodded.

"Yes, I hear you." Rei hid his head on Shin's lap but raised a hand.

"Loud and clear." Gai gave thumbs up.

"Yeah...I hear you, Goh." Goh then tried his hardest to smile.

"Well then, that's settled. I think it is time to let them come in again. We will talk more about this later." He then got up and head towards the door.

* * *

"My, my..." Takeru looked amused.

"He kind of reminds me of a certain someone." Yuda looked at him.

"Really? Who?" Takeru stared at him. Yuda looked back.

"Hm?" Luca smiled.

"I think Takeru meant you, Yuda. Your way of handling things is very much like Goh. No-nonsense and direct to the point. But is still humane." Yuda slightly tilted his head sideways.

"Really?" then the door opened and they saw the person they are just talking about appear before them.

"Oh, sorry, did I interrupt something?" Yuda shook his head.

"No, you did not. I take that you all are..." Goh nodded.

"Yes. We would like to hear the rest of what happened." Luca nodded.

"Of course. Shall we?" Goh nodded and went back inside with the others in tow.

* * *

When Yuda and the others came in, they now see a different seating arrangement. Gai is now sitting beside Goh and Rei is sitting beside Shin's bed. They can still see that their noses are slightly red but there are no more tears coming out of their eyes. Yuda looked worried.

"Are you sure you want to continue?" Rei sniffed first and then he nodded.

"Yes. We want to know what was the ending of this story." Apparently, it was not only Yuda was worried, so is Takeru.

"But, the more we tell you, the more you might feel anguish." Gai just gave a shrug.

"We'll manage. Stop worrying and let's get it over with." There was a hint of impatience in his voice. Takeru nodded.

[Right, resilience...]

And then they all took a seat. Luca looked like he was thinking.

"So, where did we left off...Ah. The twins' discovered what their father had done to the other people in that facility." The humans looked grim so Luca quickly said the next sentence.

"But, that was not the only part where Gendo showed his despotic actions. He also revealed to his sons' that he made another experiment: mind control. A nano chip that is once implanted, the person will do his any biding." The tense atmosphere is back again.

"As his soldiers line up on his back, one of them breaks from the formation and went to the side. He is holding his gun and aimed at his comrade. Without hesitation, he shot down each one of his comrades in front of the twins' eyes. All were killed and this man shot himself. The twins' were speechless beyond anything you can imagine. Reiga managed to ask his father the reason for all this. Gendo then explained that he intentionally killed all those people because they have no way of supporting that many given their limited resources. In order to survive for long years to come, he decided that plan of action is the best and managed to get all their money to support their living, just the three of them. And so, it goes without saying that the Kageyama brothers were supposed to die as well." Gai gulped down and felt his throat becoming dry. He then felt Goh's hand on his shoulder and he clasp hard on it.

"The final bomb was that he also implanted the twins' with the mind control nano chip and made Keigo hand over the security badge that opens the doors for the Kageyama brothers." Shin fisted the blanket but his face is calm.

"Reiga stood motionless as he realized the mind control is making him stay where he is and to not interfere with their father's wishes. He then watched as Keigo was forced to hand over the security badge to their father's waiting hand." Luca stopped there. The humans were speechless and were all ears. Yuda then continued.

"Luca told me what happened so please, allow me to continue. When Gendo got the security badge from Keigo, he then started approaching the rooms where you were all sleeping. He started heading towards Shin and said he will destroy the tubes but Keigo made a full sprint towards him. What we guess that could have happened is that when Gendo's mind was busy telling his sons' of his plans, he made a mistake and unintentionally released his hold on them, the mind control failed." Gai nodded his head, as if agreeing with what happened.

"Alright!" He then noticed Yuda's sad face.

"W-what...Did they not escape their father after that?" Yuda shook his head.

"No. They went to save you all." Another silence. "Keigo made a full sprint towards Shin's room because that was the first room Gendo is intending to destroy first but then..." He looked to the ground.

Gai looked like he was about to cry.

"W-what happened..." Without looking, Yuda continued.

"Gendo shot Keigo. Right in the heart." Shin was so surprised he covered his hands to his mouth to muffle his agonizing whimper. Rei hugged him tight. Goh looked grim and Gai was paler than ever. Yuda became concerned with Shin's reaction and stopped. There was a long silence before Luca continued.

"His older twin, Reiga could not believe what their father just did. Keigo collapsed on the floor. In his rage, Reiga foolishly run towards his father but he met the same fate as his brother. Then, in frustration, Gendo finally revealed his disappointment on his children. That they were a family of scientist and doctors and yet, none of his children ever managed to have the same prestigious as their father. And that Kageyama Shin bested them in all aspects. In retaliation, Reiga injected himself with some sort of serum and as his body undergo drastic mutation, he revealed that he knew it was their father who spread the 'zombie virus' in Tokyo Station." Gai's eyes were so big with disbelief.

"He did this in hopes of having the affected countries buy the antidote from him, under the pretence that they have studied it and made the most effective cure. But when that plan backfired and instead, caused a misunderstanding between countries, he then shifted to use Project Shiva instead. Reiga completed his mutation and he dealt with his father quickly. He then approached Keigo who is near dying and injected him with a different serum and left the facility. As he is waiting above ground, the ground shook and out came another mutation, which strongly suggest is Keigo."

All was silent.

"Is that all?" Goh asked. Yuda nodded.

"Yes, we have told you everything that has happened. And then 8 years after that incident, we found you." Rei looked confused.

"So, where were Reiga and Keigo when you came to the facility?" Yuda was silent.

[...]

"We did not see them anywhere. All we found in the facility are you and your brothers." Luca looked at his red haired friend.

[Yuda...]

[What they do not know would not hurt them. They have already heard more than enough. I do not want to add anymore to that...]

Shin has somewhat recovered and stared at Yuda for a long time.

"Is...that so?" Yuda's eyes falter before Shin's intense gaze.

"...Yes. We have searched the vicinity but we could not find them. We have a theory that the mutation may have gone wrong." Gai looked depressed.

"So...they died too..." His simple comment was met with silence. Yuda stood up, followed by Luca and Takeru.

"We know that this story left you with heavy hearts so we will leave you be. If you need anything, please feel free to push that button beside Shin's bed. If you will excuse us." The two went ahead and exited the room when Yuda stopped and faced the brothers' again.

"Before I go, please hear me out." The humans looked at him.

"We knew humans believe in Fate or in Destiny. I would like to say that your surviving the whole ordeal must mean that you all have something left that needs to be done. It may be hard to accept everything but we believe that you will be able to overcome this. But, as humans say it, Fate is a cruel mistress. She will not wait for you forever to recuperate. All we can do right now is move forward while we heal along the way. Forgive me for speaking such but I believe there must be something after this. Something to look forward to. Please do not forget that. Please forgive me if you find my words offensive, I mean no ill feeling." He then left the room with four humans all in deep thought.

* * *

TBC

* * *

Just some notes here...

Yes, Tamami and Yuki's last name were derived from real life people in Japan; Yuki's last name is from Nakagawa Shoko, a famous talent/celebrity in Japan whereas Tamami's last name is from Hazuki Ako, a famous maid (one who works in a maid cafe) in Akihabara

For Reiga and Keigo's father, got the first name from the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, Ikari Gendo. He is the protagonist father. He is a cold person (only to his son) and does not care about him or his safety.

Please review! ^^


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note:** I do not own Saint Beast. Credits go to the original creator.

**Characters:** the deep-in-thought Goh and Gai, Maya, Saki, cameo role by Kira

**Additional notes:** I will separate each POVs (Point of Views) here for easier understanding. And I really tried but I cannot fit in Rei and Shin here...way too loooooooooooooooooooong...

I will post it, hopefully by Sunday...if my schedule permits... ^^;

Enjoy! And please keep those reviews coming in! ^^

===== IF YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL **(*), **THE DEFINITION IS ON THE BOTTOM PART OF THIS PAGE =====

* * *

Gai

He just got back from Shin's room. As the door closed, Gai went straight to his bed and collapsed, face down first.

[Hmmm...this bed is so fluffy...feels good...]

He then hugged a pillow as he think about the story that was told to them. He still could not believe that Tamami really is gone. He started remembering all the good times (and bad) with her and he is starting to feel the treacherous tears returning to his eyes. So he got up, laid the innocent looking pillow down and started punching it.

[Arghhhhhhh! Baka (*)! Baka! BAKA! Tamami, you BAKA!]

The fluffy pillow takes all of Gai's punches as it reverts back to its fluffiness state each and every time he punches it. After awhile, for some reason, he felt bad doing it so he smoothen out the pillow and sigh.

[What am I doing? This is so lame...]

So to distract himself, he remembered that Shin has his belongings with him.

[Could that mean, they also had mine here?]

And so he looked and lo and behold, it is displayed in the same manner as Shin's property. He approached his stuff, nostalgia kicking in.

[My white qipao! Alright, I will be able to train with Goh with this! Sweet! What else...OH!]

He grabbed the circular object that is a mirror. It has gold design around it and not small to be held in one hand. It requires two hands for stable hold

[Hey! This is Yuki-neesan's mirror! I always borrow this...though Rei keep saying I 'stole' it...sheesh, really, I was just borrowing it and admire its beauty...Rei does not understand how to appreciate beauty]

With a convincing nod to himself, he declared that Rei is an enemy of art and beauty. He gently laid the mirror back down and checked the other things. He stopped when he saw the next item.

[My...cat costume...]

Slowly, he grabbed it and held it close to see if there are any damage. Deeming that the item is free from any holes or any scratch, he held it close to his chest.

[Tamami...]

He then cried. The costume has a pair. The other one is owned by Tamami. He remembered back then, when they had a local matsuri (*), he and Tamami wore this and went to town and see the parade. After that, they would visit the temple (still wearing the costume) and then enjoy the numerous stalls and, when the fireworks start, they would go up the hill and watch it there. Gai argues that that was the best place to see it while Tamami would look red as she look around and see only couples in that area. Either they are kissing or hugging or plain looking at the fireworks just like them. After that, Gai would always wonder at Tamami's reddening look only to get a smack on the face and see her run away. He has absolutely no idea what just happened but the next day, they talk as if nothing happened.

[Tamami...!]

The grief is too much. He is remembering all of the times they were together. And then, he is imagining what Tamami looked like when she drank that poisoned drink.

[Why?! WHY?!]

His knees were becoming weak as he sat on the steel floor, crying his heart out.

[Tamami does not deserve to die! Not that kind of death! Why?!]

He is in this state and did not notice that Maya silently went inside his hospital room. Sadden by the state in which Gai is in, Maya decided to check him out and make sure that everything is okay. Apparently not since Gai is crying so hard, he did not even notice he was already there.

[Poor Gai...]

He slowly approaches the crying blonde and silently sat beside him, listening to his heart breaking sobs. Maya feels the emotion so well; he can feel his eyes tearing up as well.

[Kira – niisan once told me that crying for humans is good...because it lets them release whatever they cannot say through words...and the best way to console them is to not stop them, but be there for them and let them cry...]

So Maya stayed while Gai cry his heart out. After a few minutes, Maya can feel that Gai has somewhat lessen the intensity of his cries and is now sniffing.

"How are you feeling right now, Gai?" He was answered by a sniff followed by a rough rub on the blonde's nose.

"Good...I think." Maya nod to that and gave a small smile.

"That's good to hear." He got a nod as an answer. It appears that Gai is in no talking mode so Maya did the talking.

"I want to share a story with you, if I may..."

"Sure...go ahead, shoot." He saw Gai hug his knees with the large cat costume in between, sandwiching it. Maya stare off into the space beyond them.

"You know, I remembered myself when I saw you crying. I cried like that before, back when I was a kid." Gai was surprised.

"Eh? Why? Did someone...leave you as well?" Maya shook his head.

"No. More like, we are being left alone by others..." Gai looked confused.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Maya stared on his knees as he mimicked Gai's position.

"You see, in our planet, me and my brother are considered 'low life'. We are half blood: half Empyreanist, half human." Gai was shocked.

"H-humans?" Maya nod.

"Remember when Commander Yuda mentioned that centuries ago, we ingrained our DNAs to humans...well, our father, his name is Lucifer, he was on one of those voyages on his way to get more energy from your planet. And to see the evolution of humans. That was hundreds of years ago..." Gai's jaw dropped.

"Hundreds of years ago?! How OLD are you then?" Maya just smiled.

"We age differently compared to you. But in terms of human time, you can say I am about 700 years old. My brother would be 715 years or so." Gai's shoulder sunk.

"7-700 years old, wow! You guys are like vampires...except you don't need blood." Maya laughed.

"I told you, we age differently. And no, we are no vampires. Anyways, going back, my father went to Earth and there he met my mother, a human." Gai is now curious and all attentive.

"Well, long story short, they fell in love. Mama gave birth to Kira – niisan. Father decided to stay in Earth together with Mama. He forgot about how our age works and that we are almost immortal, in human sense." Gai nodded understanding. "A few years later, when I was born, this bitter truth shook my father to the core as Mama died when she gave birth to me. He was still mourning when our King, Commander Yuda and Commander Luca's father, King Zeus, came personally to fetch us. We were both young, me and my brother, and the King did all he could to convince Father to come back to our planet and he can raise us there better than staying on Earth. At that time, was under a catastrophic plague and lots of humans dying. Something about rats as the cause. Anyway, it took months before Father finally decided to come back. He knew that we will not be received well by the people because of our half blood. But the King assured him that we will all live in the Palace to avoid this persecution and prejudice. So, we went back and we faced all kinds of trial you could think off. All of this, the King defended us through and through. We were able to avoid the major retribution, but there was a catch: my Father will never be allowed to ever leave our planet ever again and same goes with us." After this, Maya is silent. Gai again, looked confused.

"Never again? But you are..." Maya nod and gave a small smile.

"Yes, we are finally allowed after years of fighting for our right. Not only we had the King's support, but the Commanders also helped. They were our first friends in the palace, since we all live there. We were even granted freedom outside the Palace..." Gai then noticed that Maya looked like he was about to cry.

"I-Isn't that great? You are allowed freedom..." Maya gave a sad nod.

"Yes. We were happy...and naive. Especially me. It seems that even though years had passed, the people did not forget how we came to be. I experienced then my first bullying from kids with the same age as I am. They...they say a lot of hurtful words." Gai sees that Maya is having a hard time saying the next words and he then placed a hand on Maya's shoulder.

"You don't have to say it." Maya shook his head, much to Gai's surprised.

"I...I have to." Maya heaved a long breathe and released it slowly.

"I find it unfair if only we are the only ones who know about you and not the other way around. I...I do not want to hide anything from you." Gai saw Maya's determination.

"Alright. Go on." Maya nodded.

"I run to my Father, crying. That was when I noticed Kira – niisan's indifference to those who looked at us with disdain. He would often go into fights to protect me. That's when we met Commander Yuda and Luca, who were at that time, just visiting the Palace." At this, Maya's face became soft and he smiled.

"They were checking the palace with their Mother when Kira – niisan got into another fight because of me. I tried to stop him but Kira – niisan was so mad, I was afraid he might kill the offender. Then, Commander Yuda stepped in and asked what happened. The offender told lies and said we started it, Kira – niisan was about to say what really happened when Commander Luca came and touched the offender. After a few seconds, he told Yuda that the offender was lying and that he really was the first one to start the fight. The offenders then leave. Their mother, Queen Cosmos, approached us and asked if we were okay. Kira – niisan no longer trusts the pure blood when Commander Luca said he knew who we were. That was the first time we had other pure blood talk to us without any disdain." Maya sighed and looked apologetic at Gai.

"Sorry, my story took long to say." Gai shook his head.

"No, it was a...uh, very interesting story though there were some sad parts. But still, interesting story." Maya smiled.

"I'm glad." Gai looked at him curiously.

"So, this is your first time outside your planet, huh, Maya?" Maya nodded.

"Yes. Though we cannot control the other people on board who joined us..." Maya then avoided Gai's eyes.

"What do you mean?" Maya looked on his foot.

"Well, we still get the occasional jests here and there." Gai became furious.

"WHAT?! That's not fair!" Maya was caught off guard with Gai's reaction.

"Gai?"

"In the first place, it is not you or your droopy eyed brother's fault that you were born that way! Bastards! Who are this people and let me give them a piece of my mind!" He was about to rise up and do exactly that when he saw Maya laughing. He found this weird.

"Why are you laughing?! Let us go and beat the bloody reason on them! Come on!" Maya had to restrain Gai while laughing which he did with ease. Gai gave up.

"Why are you laughing?" Maya tried to talk.

"S-sorry. It's just that...he said the same thing." Gai looked confused.

"Who said the same thing?" Maya is now done laughing and is brushing the tears from his eyes.

"Commander Yuda. Although he did not say he will "beat" them to see his reasoning but instead, he will show them. And Kira – niisan, droopy eyed?" Maya tried to stop a chuckle from coming out. "I do not think he will like to hear that." Gai stopped and scratched his cheek.

"Oh...uh, hehe." Maya nodded.

"Yes, so please calm down." Gai went back to sit, Indian style with the costume on his lap. Light hearted, Maya mimicked Gai's sitting position and faced him.

"Calm now?" Gai gave a nod. Maya smiled.

"Thanks." Gai looked confused.

"For what?" Maya looked at his feet again.

"For listening. And for doing what you just did. It felt...good. Now that I was able to say it to somebody else. Our life goes on, and so are these people. We cannot change the fact that we are different from them." He then looked sad at this thought. Gai, in attempt to change the topic, he saw his cat costume. He stared long and hard on it.

[Move on, Gai! This is not what Tamami wants you to do if ever she is here...a pathetic, crying man is a no-no for Tamami...]

He then gave a nod to himself.

"Hey, let's go see Rei." Maya is not sure what Gai meant. He looked like he was planning something.

"What is it?" Gai raised the cat costume so that Maya can look at it.

"Let's ask him to make another one like this. Then it will be yours." Maya was feeling the soft fabric of the cat costume.

"Mine? Why me? And for what?"

"This cat costume comes in pair, you know? The other pair used to belong to someone whom I call my friend." Gai was silent.

[He must mean Tamami...]

Shaking his head, Gai continued.

"You know, she was a strong willed girl. I know she would not like me sulking like a loser here. So, as Goh said, we must move on. Remember our departed loved ones every now and then, but definitely move on. For me, I think I can move on once this cat costume of mine has another pair. Not only that, but to celebrate the beginning of our friendship." He then gave his biggest smile to Maya.

"Gai..."

"Also, to thank you for sharing your story. You looked sad and in pain when you narrate your story but you still shared it and I am grateful and honoured." Maya smiled.

"Hehe. Thanks! Let us go then, to your big brother Rei." He then stand up and helped Gai. He was moving towards the door when he noticed that Gai went to get his white qipao.

"Gai?" He then watched Gai changed as he explains his thoughts.

"I wanna wear this." He is fixing the buttons. "I have been wearing these clothes," he pointed at the one he just discarded. "For what...years? So, yeah. There, all done. Let's go!" He then grabbed the cat costume and followed an excited Maya out of the door.

He followed where Maya and Gai went as he leaned on the wall, a few feet away from the door. Kira has his arms crossed against his chest and looked at his fleeing little brother.

[Maya, I never knew you have grown so much. And I never knew you felt that way. Why did you not tell me?]

He then looked at Gai's retreating back.

[...I guess, I really have to give Maya more freedom. For him to have more friends, friends he can rely on...]

He then went the other way, remembering he has an errand that he needs to fulfil.

* * *

Goh

Goh has been staring at the vast space for quite awhile now. He knew what space looked like, from the Planetariums that they had visited before, but he has no idea it was this massive.

[I feel so...small. Compared to this vast star ocean...a miniscule matter drifting in this sea of stars...I wish Yuki can see this...]

At the mention of her name, the harsh reality hit him like a punch in the gut.

[That's right...Yuki is...Yuki is gone...]

Just then, he heard his door opened and came in a man with a short, reddish brown hair. On his hands is a tray brimming with food.

"Hello, Kageyama Goh-san. I brought you your food for today." He stands in attention near the door. Goh briefly observed the man.

[Almost my height...]

"Thank you. You can just leave it there." He pointed at the table near his bed. Saki followed and placed the food tray and was just about to leave when he heard Goh address him.

"Were you the one in the corridor a few minutes ago? When we came out to visit Shin's room?" Saki's face showed mild surprise.

"Yes. It was I."

[So it was not a fluke that he looked at me. He sensed my presence]

Goh tilted his head.

"I see. How did you do that?" Saki raised an eyebrow.

"How I did the stealth? It is easy; it is one of the many features our suits have. Here, let me show you." He then pressed something on his left wrist and all of a sudden, he is gone. Goh made an amused whistle.

"Wow. Pretty convenient." Saki then appeared again.

"It is. Especially if we were given a mission without a moment's notice." Goh nodded.

"Thank you for taking the time to explain it to me. I wish to be alone though. If you don't mind." Saki bowed slightly and makes way towards the door. Goh turned his back on him and he heard the door open and closed. He resumed watching the stars. Without moving his head, his eyes looked to the right.

[Man, does he think I will not notice?]

"I think I said I wish to be left alone, Sir..." Saki appeared out of nowhere. He is standing beside the door.

[Hmmm, it really is no fluke. This man's ability to detect my presence even in the highest setting of my stealth mode is superb]

"Forgive me, Kageyama Goh-san, I-" before he could even continue, he saw Goh stopping him.

"Just Goh is fine. May I know your name?" Saki bowed a little.

"My apologies, I forgot my manners. I am called Saki." Goh nodded.

"I see. So, Saki, it is not very nice to be lying to people especially if they wanted to be left alone." Saki bowed deeply this time.

"My apologies. I have no ill intention when I said otherwise. I am merely trying out a theory I had in mind." Goh looked amused.

"Oh? What kind of theory?"

"That your ability to notice my presence even if I am on Stealth Mode is true or not." Goh raised an eyebrow.

"And what did you find out?"

"That it is indeed true and I am amazed of your ability." Goh blinked once and then he laughed. Saki was surprise.

"Oh, my bad. I'm sorry. You should try it with Rei. He is the sharpest of all of us. If with Shin, well, only if he is not focused on anything." Goh is still smiling. Saki is not sure what he meant.

"Do you mean to say that your little brothers are better than you in terms of sensing presence?" Goh nodded and walked towards the food that Saki placed. He looked at it and then to the man before him.

"Yes. Especially Rei. Do not ever wager a bet with him using that. I am telling you as early as now, you will fail." He grabbed the apple and rubbed it against his hospital gown and then ate it. He then offered his food to Saki.

"Care to join me?"

"We do not require nourishment, unlike humans." Saki explained.

Goh is eating and is almost finished. He gulped the last food and he took a drink.

"Is that so? You never eat AT ALL?" Saki nodded.

"Not really at all, there are a few occasions were eating is required, such as festivities. But we rarely had festivities, thus, not all the time." Goh nodded.

"I see." Saki then noticed that Goh is holding onto something. He pointed at it and Goh followed it with his eyes.

"May I ask what is that thing you are holding?" Goh held it higher for Saki to see.

[A small, black, velvet box...?]

"Ah, this?" He opened it and Saki saw a small silver colored ring. The band is in a heart shape. And the middle design is also in a heart shape. At the core is a pink diamond, shining in its own brilliance.

"This was meant to adorn Yuki's finger. An engagement ring." Saki briefly looked on his comm. device and checked what the word is.

[Engagement Ring: a circular band meant to be worn by usually the female partner. It is a symbol that one is about to be married to their man of their dreams]

Goh seem to not see Saki as he gaze at the ring.

"You know, a small part of me is saying that it does not believe that my long time girlfriend and soul mate's gone. It is just too sudden for me. And when I learned of how she died, in a brutal and helpless way...it is all the more unreal for me. Like what you expect to happen in movies, not in real life. That small part of me wishes that someday I can give this to her, that she was just lost somewhere and waiting for me to find her."

Saki listens as Goh's eyes began to water with nostalgia.

"But, the other part, the dominant part of me, is telling me to man up and accept the cruel truth. That all I can do now is mourn over my lost." Goh sighs and slumps in his seat.

"It's tearing me apart. It hurts so much...no words can explain what I am feeling right now. I am afraid I might go insane." Saki begun to worry.

[Oh no, I better tell Takeru]

And he switched a button on his device. And then Saki, unsure on what to do, placed a hand on Goh's sulking shoulders.

"Goh, are you feeling well? Maybe you should rest..." He felt a strong grip on his hands.

[Ugh! He is...strong...!]

"No, I'm just...just, please stay with me." Saki nodded.

"Of course. I will not go anywhere. You need to rest." Goh shook his head.

"No. I need someone to listen to me. Anyone." He then looked directly at Saki's eyes.

"Please..." Saki is held by that gaze and nod. He saw Goh's eyes swimming with all these emotions and then it was gone. Goh hung his head, as if in defeat.

"I cannot let my brothers see me like this." Saki nodded.

"I understand. Kira does the same as well." Goh looked up.

"I think you already saw him: the blonde guy." Goh nodded. Saki gave a small smile.

"He looks and acts tough whenever Maya is around but when he is alone, I saw him thinking deeply and has this pained look in him. Kira sometimes opens up with me since I do not care if he is a half blood or what." Goh looked confused.

"Half blood?" Saki nodded.

"Yes, Kira and Maya share the same blood with you. They have human blood in them." Goh looked shocked.

"A human...but is not." Saki nodded.

"Yes. Even so, Kira shows true potential as a fighter. I respect such power that only he exudes. Same goes with you, Goh."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. Although you yourself looked strong. So is your Commander. The red haired." Saki smiled with pride.

"Commander Yuda? Oh, yes! He is indeed powerful! The strongest and best fighter in our universe!" He looked as if he remembered something. Goh looked at him as he fumbles with his suit pockets. He then produced a some sort of neck chain. He then gave it to Goh.

"You should place the ring here. That way, your arms will be free for fighting." That was not what Goh was expecting. Unable to hide it, Goh laughed again. Saki looked worried.

[Oh...did he lose his mind already? He looked fine while we were talking...where is Takeru?!]

Goh's laughter finally died away with a worried Saki looking at him.

"Sorry about that. I did not see that coming." He still chuckled as he brush tears away from the corners of his eyes.

"A-are you okay?"Saki observed him closely.

[Hetero chromatic eyes, red and blue. They are...beautiful...]

"Yes, I am fine. Sorry that I worried you. Thank you; I will accept your offer." He then put the ring on the neck chain and admired it.

"The ring is too small for me anyway. Even on Shin's fingers." Saki is not sure why Shin's name is mentioned but he is happy that Goh accepted the small gift.

"Well then, I shall be going now." Goh nodded and looked at the ring again. As he reached the door, Saki turned around one last time.

"By the way, Goh." Goh looked at him.

"You should try to join the Special Forces. I am sure we can use your skills and knowledge." Goh gave a small smile.

"I will think about it. Thanks for the offer." Saki nodded and finally, left the room. At that moment, he saw Gai and Maya running past his room, almost bumping to Saki. Not sure what the two are up to, he just hopes it is not trouble. He wore the ring as he strode back to his place before Saki came in.

As he went back to space gazing, he fiddles with the ring. Feeling the small ring against his fingers, he is in deep thought once again.

[I...have to accept reality, don't I?]

He saw a comet passing by.

[...Yuki...]

He can feel the start of another crying moment so he looked at the ceiling. And his eye caught something. He moved closer and touched his blue qipao.

[Now this is something I have not seen for awhile now...]

He just looked at it as he caressed it to smoothness. He then removed his hold on the ring and changed to his blue qipao. After that, he left the room.

[I will need to talk to Shin...]

* * *

TBC

* * *

* Definition of terms:

1. Baka – Japanese word which translates to stupid.

2. Matsuri – another Japanese word which translates to festival.

I am not sure but I think Luca's mother is named Chronos...or something along those lines. I forgot so I used Cosmos instead. Based on how the story is based on science, it is more fitting if you asked me.

Please do not forget to review! ^^


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